


West Sayan - English Version

by Ally_D



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Western, Dragon Ball Z - Freeform, F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-25
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-01-03 02:47:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 14
Words: 39,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21172160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ally_D/pseuds/Ally_D
Summary: This is a story set in a faraway place and in a bygone era when a cowboy decided to go after a dream called ... Dragon Balls. His name was Bardock, and we are sorry to say that he failed. But he left a son. Which was first called Kakarotto and then, Son Goku. This is his story.(Translated from Portuguese-BR version)





	1. Prologue - Welcome to West Sayan

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [West Sayan](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/666334) by Ally_D. 

"_What we lost in the fire, we found in the ashes."_

**(The Magnificent Seven, Directed by Antony Fuqua, 2016)**

Hello! West Sayan is the first fanfiction I am trying to translate to English. So, I ask you to be patient, because this isn't my first language and I will probably make some mistakes. Well, constructive criticism will be welcome.

West Sayan is an Old West story, but not an American Old West history. Even full of cowboys, bandits, Indians, and everything standard in any western tale, this will be a Dragon Ball history, and the Geography is more like the series Geography: no Country is precisely like the reality, and the places are more like a strange jigsaw of real sites.

In this fictional Alternative Universe, probably 100 years before the first Dragon Ball series, the Far West is a rough place, and there where a Civil War years before, wich one Bardock took place as a soldier. At the beginning of the story, he and his family are running away from a very well known bad guy.

You will see places with names inspired by the original series and characters very likely the originals, even if I transformed the nature of some of them. Piccolo is a "Foreigner man" (actually, a native disguised), Oolong, Puar and Karin aren't animals, but humans; Tien is also a native from the "Han" tribe, just like Chaozu; Goku, Vegeta, Raditz and, of course, Bardock are classic cowboys. Even Nimbus is a character, but its transformation is my favorite one, so I won't tell you about it, because I want to make a surprise.

I have to tell you when I transformed one of my favorite characters, Tienshinhan, in an Indian, I tried to be sensitive about it, avoiding make him a caricature of a Native American or make any cultural appropriation. The words of his language are mostly from the Dragon Ball series and other books and series, as you will see later.

I had the idea of this history on a Sunday night when I was watching "Westworld." I know it is a sci-fi series, but the West environment suddenly seemed a perfect scenario to make a Dragon Ball AU history. There is also many influence of Stephen King's Dark Tower series (but not that awful movie) and other books like "East of Eden", "To Kill a Mockingbird", "Gone with the wind", also from movies like "Shane", "Blood for a silver dólar", "Magnificent Seven", and, of course, all the Sergio Leone movies I watched along my childhood. Some of them are celebrated in this history with all credits when it appears like a reference.

Finally, Raditz is essentially a bohemian man, so he has a guitar and plays some music out of time the story takes place. Please, see this like a poetic license I made to use songs like Bon Jovi's "Blaze of Glory," "Ghost Riders in the Sky," and "Long Black Veil," by Johnny Cash.

Finally, each chapter begins with a quote that may be from a book or a movie that helped me form the imagery of this story. The one in this chapter came from the new version of the movie "The Magnificent Seven," 2016.

I hope you enjoy this story just like I enjoyed to write it.


	2. The Son of Heaven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bardock is running from West Sayan with his family when they are intercepted by Freeza's Gang.

"_The commandments say 'Thou shalt not kill,' but we hire men to go out and do it for us. The right and the wrong seem pretty clear here. But if you're asking me to tell my people to go out and kill and maybe get themselves killed, I'm sorry. I don't know what to say. I'm sorry..."_

**(High Noon, directed by Fred Zimmerman, 1952)**

* * *

On the road from West Sayan to New Sadala, there was a stagecoach left turned, one of its wheels broken and stuck by a big rock. The horses were shifting restlessly, raising dust from the path. At the top, the closed carriage ride stood a man, but he was dead, lying on his side with a shot on the head. Surrounding the stagecoach was a group of five men riding horses. One of them dismounted and approached the stagecoach with a gun in his hand.

The man, who was tall, ugly and big-headed, opened the carriage door, pointing a gun to inside before say, as soon as he looked there: "It's Bardock's family, Mr. Freeza. Just as you said"

The guy he addressed mounted on a huge horse, a menacing-looking black steed, but he was short and thin, pale-skinned, with dark circles below his eyes, and a bald head protected by a hat. He had an expression of permanent scorn on his equally purplish thick lips and grabbed the horse's reins loosely and carelessly. Looking bored, he said: "Bring them to me, Ginyu!"

A man and a woman, both black-haired, were sacked out the carriage with two boys. The younger boy was already a toddler and seemed to be asleep, wrapped in a wool blanket on her lap, which was quite pretty. The man had spiked hair slipping under his brown hat and an x-shaped scar on his face. His deep black eyes looked to the gang boss with intense hate: "Freeza, you monster ... what more do you want from me? Let me take my family away from this place, I'll never see you again, and no one will know. I'm unarmed. You know that I will do nothing against you."

"You challenged me, Bardock. I don't know why..."

"I just want to make a decent living for my family." Far from you and your men, so I decided to leave. I didn't even get my share in our last robbery; you know that."

Frieza looked at Bardock with disdain before saying:

"I understand your craving for change ... but I know there would only be one way for you to get out of here and try life in New Sadala if you had stolen something precious. You don't look like the kind that collects coins one by one, Bardock, and I think you found something worth risking the life of your wife and children or…"

He looked lustfully at the beautiful woman holding the smaller kid, still asleep, close to her chest while the other boy, about six, hid behind the folds of her skirt.

"But no one escapes me like that... especially with something that interests me. Confess where is the treasure you hide, and I'll give you a quick death, Bardock. "

"You're wrong, Freeza." Bardock said, "If you found anything valuable inside the carriage, you can kill me, but please save my wife and kids. I even sold my colts to travel because I had nothing more to make money!"

As he said it, Bardock looked meaningful to one man from the gang, who looked away with guilty.

"I'll think about it..." said Freeza with a grim "Nappa, Ginyu, Zarbon... Search everything."

The three men searched the stagecoach, the luggage, opened the seats behind a false bottom, and then searched the driver's seat, throwing the poor man's body from above. So Zarbon said: "We didn't find anything here. It seems he is telling the truth."

"Gosh ..." said Freeza. "So it looks like you're not a thief, Bardock. But you are still a traitor; I can't allow it to leave. Kill them all!" he told Ginyu. The man stared at him in shock and said: "Sir ... we never killed women or children before."

Frieza stared at him, then aimed his gun at the woman and shot her in the head. She fell, and the child on her lap, who had been quiet until then, awoke and began to cry loudly.

Freeza was about to point his gun over the baby's head when the other boy ran to him and started to punch his boot, shouting: "MY MOTHER, YOU KILLED MY MOTHER!"

He looked down, laughing, and said: "I liked his attitude ... Bardock, I think I can spare your son. Take him, Nappa."

The man who had been faced by Bardock, a bald man, grabbed the little boy, who began to thrash and scream and led him to his horse, where he picked up a leather strap to tie the boy's hands, who was still trying to bite him. The man tied the boy's hands, saying:

"You are brave, but be quiet, boy! Freeza already saved you, be grateful. There is another boy in the gang; you can play with him."

Bardock, who was still at the sight of one of the men, looked up at Freeza and said: "You won't laugh like that forever ... someday you'll find someone to shut up your damn mouth and put a bullet in your forehead. The bullet I should have put."

Freeza laughed and pointed his gun direct to Bardock's face. So, he seemed to change his mind and shot him in the center of his chest. Bardock felt, breathing hard and snorting as a red ax was appearing on his brown shirt. The baby, who was standing next to the woman's fallen body, quickly crawled and cuddled into his father's chest, stopping to cry loudly and moaning softly. Frieza seemed to like what he saw and said: "I was going to put a bullet on your baby's head, but it seems more fun to leave you here, shot to death, imagining wich beast will eat your son. Farewell, Bardock. If there is a hell, we'll meet there someday. Come on, guys. Take the horses. Something has to save this uselessness."

The men who were still on their feet climbed into their horses and sped off. The last two took the stolen horses tied to their mounts. Still struggling with the kicks and bites of the boy he was carrying, Nappa asked: "Don't you think it's risky to keep Bardock alive? And we could have brought the child. It's cruel to leave her to the coyotes."

"Would you change diapers and give milk bottles to the baby, Nappa? You will already take care of this one and the other, the Vegeta kid I saved because of you mourns."

The man said nothing and Freeza added:

"Then don't play the sentimental."

* * *

Son Gohan was a widowed farmer who barely left his farm, only when he brought horses to sell. Most of the time, he devoted himself to hunting wild horses and taming them or hunting wild animals for food. Vegetables grown in his small garden and eventually beans bought in West Sayan completed his diet, and that was what he intended to purchase that morning when he rode his brown horse toward the village.

He had left his place not half an hour ago when, at a bend in the road, he saw an Indian with mohawk hair standing on a rock. Beside him was a boy who could only be his son, about seven years old. Interestingly, the Indian boy had three eyes. "Han," – said Gohan, "you scared me."

The native raised his right hand in greeting after slapping it on his chest and said: "Friend Gohan, Tien saw something and wants you to come back on the road."

The older man stared at the boy. Tienshin Han, the son of the native, was a little bit scary. Their tribe considered him like a sort of divinity, the Starchild, because of his odd singularity, but Gohan respected that. He recognized all the Han's clan, which helped him to endure there for 40 years, of which the latest 5, following his wife's death, had been the most difficult.

"Why should I come back, Tien?" asked the old man, curious. The boy already helped him with his "powers" one or two times before, the most notable when he helped to find a lost mare.

"In the curve of the plane rock, there are dead people and a living man who will die soon." said the boy, "Good souls. And there is a son for Gohan. A son sent by heaven."

The man widened his eyes. That could be true. Freeza's band walked around and sometimes assailed the stagecoach from West Sayan to New Sadala. But they didn't usually kill passengers. They would instead steal shipments than people, and several would leave without much for the larger city.

But, knowing that little Tien was rarely mistaken, Gohan spurred his horse in the opposite direction from which he had come. Just on the curve determined by the boy, he saw the stooped stagecoach and the hideous scenario, wherever three fallen bodies made him trace the sign of the cross over his face. They had taken the horses and anything they deemed they were of value. Undoubtedly, a robbery to create a horrible story on that curve. He got off his horse and approached.

That was when he saw the baby. The boy was asleep on the chest of a fallen man. His little clothes were bloody, but he realized the blood was from the man. As he picked the boy up, the man opened his eyes in agony, extending his bleeding hand to Gohan and said: "Take care of my little... Ka... Kakarott. But give him another name. Freeza can't know he survived!"

Gohan shook his head in agreement, and the man said: "The ... blanket." He pointed to the fallen woman beyond. Gohan approached and saw that she was holding a blanket where she had probably wrapped the baby.

Still, with the sleeping child in his arms, Gohan approached, mourning for the unfortunate woman, who had a hole in her temples under her black hair. She was beautiful and had a terrified expression. He muttered a pray and picked the blanket. To his surprise, a strange, golden sphere and a belt buckle that seemed to be made of gold fell from the sheet. There was a silver dragon drawn on the buckle, embossed, worked on a possible platinum application. On the back of the clasp was a folded parchment, neatly fitted into the gap that would be to pass the belt. Gohan picked up both objects and looked at the man, puzzled.

With much effort, the man said: "This is ... Kakarotto's treasure. Put it away. Just give it to him as an adult ... and don't let Freeza know ... they are with you ... he can't," he breathed in with an enormous effort before saying: "know that it exists."

The man then began to breathe slowly, with effort, and Gohan heard the bloody gasp in his throat. Gohan knew he wouldn't live much longer, so he approached and said: "I will keep the treasure ... and raise your son as my grandson, I promise..."

"Bardock," said the man with great effort.

"Bardock." Agreed Gohan, holding the man's hand.

"Give us a decent burial," said Bardock. "Put flowers ... on the grave of my ... Gine."

"I promise!" said Gohan, grabbing Bardock's hand.

Bardock gave one last smile, and Gohan saw the blood on his teeth. Then the man's eyes rolled, and with an anguished sigh, he died.

Son Gohan had tears in his eyes. Freeza was cruel enough to kill a couple and leave their baby for the coyotes. He stood and put what he had found on the blanket in his backpack, wrapping the baby in the rug carefully. The boy opened his sleepy eyes to him and smiled. He smiled back and said softly: "Let's go to West Sayan. There we'll get milk for you, my little one, and we'll bring people in for a decent burial for your parents."

He thought for a moment. Freeza could not have known that the boy had survived, nor could he have known of the treasure, so he decided to bury the bodies himself and keep the boy a secret. When they found the stagecoach in a day or two, they would think the natives had buried them, because eventually, the Han tribe did it with dead men they found on the road out regarding respect.

He deposited Kakarott, fallen asleep again, inside the stagecoach, and, after finding the shovel, the driver always had to desolate the wheels if they fall into the mud, began his work.

* * *

It was night when Gohan came to town with the boy, who was crying with hunger. He went straight to the priest's house, which had four cows stuck in the back and also sold milk. The priest's wife, who had a seasoned pregnancy belly, welcomed him and asked: "Who is this baby, Mr. Son?"

"My great-nephew," the old man lied, "his parents died of fever, and the lawyers sent him straight to me from New Sadala. It was that or the orphanage. I came to buy some milk, and he is starving!"

"Do not worry!" She said with a smile. "Ox and I will be happy to feed the boy for today ... and we can have milk delivered to your house every day for as long as he needs it." She caressed her belly, saying, "God gives life to those who care for an orphan, Mr. Son."

"Amen!" said the old man.

"And what is this little guy's name?" asked the woman, caressing the boy's face.

"Goku," said Gohan, using the name he and his wife wanted to give a never born child.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Yes, Bardock and Gine start the story by dying violently. Because Goku is not himself having his father and mother alive. That left Grandpa Gohan, who, however, will have a more prolonged survival because, in this story, no one becomes an Oozaru.
> 
> 2\. Freeza, to me, is the greatest villain of Dragon Ball, and one of the greatest anime villains of all time. That's why he's the big villain in this story, although you can be sure that other villains will come to their faces at different times later. But neither is a match for Freeza.
> 
> 3\. We have three native tribes in this story: the oldest and almost extinct Namek, the Han you have met here, and the Bora. Everyone will have their degree of importance, but because he is one of my favorite characters, the most crucial native of this story is undoubtedly our Tienshin. He has his arc, practically a parallel story.
> 
> 4\. Nappa and Bardock had a past together, remember this.
> 
> 5\. The quotation from this chapter came from the movie "High Noon" (1952) and is told by a doctor at a meeting where city men decide not to help the sheriff, who ends up having to face alone the pack from a man he arrested for a minor crime years earlier and promises to arrive the next day on the midday train to kill him and anyone who dares to defend him. This movie is quoted in a scene from the movie "Hard to Kill" by the character Hans Grubber: "This time John Wayne doesn't ride at sunset with Grace Kelly" being corrected by John McLane when taking the fatal shot with "It's Gary Cooper, idiot!"
> 
> 6\. Yes, the pregnant lady is Chichi's Mother. Like the anime, here, her name is not said.
> 
> 7\. The next chapter is "Golden Nimbus" and takes place 20 years after this.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goku arrives at the city of West Sayan 20 years after his parents' deaths, at the age of 21.

"_Of them all, he had been the most perfectly made, a man whose deeply romantic core was encased in a brutally simple box which consisted of instinct and pragmatism."_

**(Stephen King, The Waste Land – Dark Tower series, vol. III)**

* * *

**Twenty years after...**

It was a lazy and warm afternoon in the city of West Sayan.

An older man called Roshi was carving a wood piece sat on the door of his rental corral, where practically every horse in town rested, while his assistant Krillin slept, his face hidden under his hat, leaning against a sheaf. Farther along, Lunch, a sneering blond woman, was sweeping vigorously in front of the Saloon before the patrons began to arrive. Across the street, the widow Bulma was bored leaning against the counter of her warehouse. She was the richest woman in town, but since her husband Yamcha had been killed when he went after gold in the northern mountains, she lived in forced mourning, eager to put on bright, colorful clothes again.

Near the warehouse, there was the clothing store owned by Oolong, a short and grumpy man who was slightly reminiscent of a pig, and the small trading post operated by Bulma's father, Mr. Briefs and beside it, a gloomy funeral home. His owner, named Piccolo, was hardly seen on the outlines, a foreigner man, always grave and quiet, who everybody considered the most educated person in the city. He was a tall and mysterious man, still dressed in dark suits and using a turban hat, and no one knew from which country he was from.

At the end of the street was a post office beside the police station run by Sheriff Satan and his fat assistant Boo, who at that moment was snoring leaning against the wall, drool dripping down his round pink face. In the middle of the city, right in the center of what was supposed to be a square, but a bland country was a small white church with a house next door where Pastor Ox and his lovely daughter Chi-Chi lived. Behind the church was a fenced, grassy courtyard where a huge apple tree and two cows grazed placidly. Fifty more houses and some shops, some closer and some further away, completed the perimeter of West Sayan.

It was a small, quiet town that was about to receive a nosy new resident.

A young man drove a wagon whose wheels creaked as it moved slowly, laden with furs, leather, and a few wooden boxes. He was tall, tan-skinned, and his spiky black hair was spreading in all directions under the brim of his light brown leather hat. He was wearing faded jeans and an open orange and black plaid shirt, showing part of his broad, hairless chest. On either side of the narrow hips hung a revolver, housed in shabby leather holsters that carelessly fastened to the belt he wore, closed by a beautiful gold buckle with a raised dragon. The wagon was driving a fat, tired donkey that stood just outside the old Roshi's corral door, panting. The young man threw back his hat, freeing his ruffled hair that spread in all directions. He jumped out of the wagon and said to old Roshi, who had stopped carving and was staring at him fearfully.

"Hi, I'm Goku. Can you get water for my donkey and some hay? We have been on the road since yesterday. if I had come by horse, I would have arrived at dusk yesterday." He sighed and smiled.

"Five cents!" said the old man, and the guy threw a coin at him, saying: "Here you have ten, to feed him properly."

"Krillin!" screamed the old man, and the guy slept near him stood up, still numb: "Yes, mister Roshi?"

"Feed his donkey!" said the old man, and Krillin, a very young and short guy, looked a little pissed to the newcomer who spoiled his afternoon nap, but the other smiled and waved friendly to him. While the donkey ate and drank water, Goku asked the old man:

"So, do you know where a guy like me can find work in this city? I mean, after selling all these furs, the wagon, and the donkey and find a good horse to buy."

The old man examined him. He seemed very strong, despite the innocent smile on his face, which made him liked the young guy immediately. The old man scratched the nose and said: "The old Briefs or his daughter can buy everything you have. The man pays properly for coats. Wich type of animals are the furs?"

"Rabbits, raccoons, some deer, one bear ... some wolf."

"Did you hunt all these animals?"

"Yep. I used to live with my grandpa, and we hunted for food. He said if I save the furs to sell when he died. There are five years of hunts on this wagon," said the guy scratching his head, "and a wolf I hunted just before I came here."

The old man stared at him in astonishment. Whoever this boy was must have an ostrich stomach to be able to eat meat like raccoon, fetid as dung and wolf, hard as stone. Blinking several times, he said: "Well, I think you can make good money on them ... and work ... can you tame wild horses?"

"This was my work. I mean when my grandpa was alive," said the young guy, widely smiling "He used to bring horses to sell here, his name was Gohan."

"Gohan? So are you the little Goku, his grandson?"

"Yeah, it is me!" the boy scratched his nose shyly. "But it has been an age since I came here last time. Seven years, or so. Since I grew up, I started to take horses to sell in New Sadala, and my grandpa preferred I went there."

"You are welcome here, my boy, very welcome! And I have a job for you to do if you can. My assistant nor I could do it."

"And what is it?"

"To tame a wild mare. If you can do it, you can take the mare and the job. Krillin, take him back there."

They circled the stable, and at the back was a wide fenced area where old Roshi left horses for exercise. In the corner of the enclosure, a bay-haired mare whose long golden mane glowed in the afternoon sun ate, her delicate head bent over a mound of soft hay. Goku smiled and said:

"Wow! She is beautiful. Is she very wild?"

"Mr. Roshi nor I can get close to her without her prancing and neighing ... saddling or riding ... not even thinking." Said Krillin contemptuously, "I say we will never be able to tame her, but he does not listen to me at all ..."

Goku looked at him, still smiling and said:

"Be back soon!"

He came back to the main street and crossed it right to the warehouse. The woman on the stand straightened herself, becoming upright and said: "May I help you?"

"Do you have lumps of sugar?" he asked, smiling.

"Twenty cents the package."

"It is expensive! At New Sadala, I paid fifteen. Are you sure it is the price?"

She glared at him and said:

"I can make it for fifteen, you greedy!"

He set three coins on the counter with a broad smile, and she went inside, giving him a small cubic package wrapped in brown paper. Goku took the box, thanked her, and headed straight for the fence. Before entering, he opened the sugar packet and took a small lump, which he undid in his hand and tasted before spreading the remaining sugar over the back of his hand and fingers.

"Good sugar! Hold this for me, Krillin." He checked the package after taking three more clods. He tucked two in his shirt pocket and bravely stepped into the pen, heading straight for the mare, who immediately raised her head in alert and bared her teeth at him.

Goku stopped in front of the mare and said softly: "Hi, pretty lady. I have something for you." He held out his fist, and the horse, smelling the sugar he had dropped, brought his muzzle close to his hand curiously. The mare began to lick the sugar from his fingers, when he gently turned his hand over and opened it, presenting the hidden sugar cube, which she devoured at once. He smiled and took another clod from his pocket, introducing it to her, who swallowed it, then licking his fingers and his hand.

Goku stood for a moment letting the mare lick all the remnants of sugar from his hand before handing her another cube, which she devoured immediately. He then turned his back on her and began to walk toward the exit, as if unaware of her. With hesitant steps, the mare walked behind him and, as he approached the door, rubbed his muzzle on his shoulder. He looked back and said: "Hey. Want more sugar, honey?"

The animal stood, expectative, until he made a gesture towards Krillin, asking two more sugar clods to him, who was staring the scene, astonished. He never got so close that mare without rejection. The guy was gifted, he thought, it was the only explanation. Goku opened his right hand with a sugar cube, smiling, but when she came closer, he closed it, saying:

"Let me pet you?" He offered his hand again with the sugar as he brought his other hand close to the beautiful head of the mare, who stared at him before deciding to devour the sugar cube as he kindly stroked her ears.

"Good girl!" - he muttered, gently "Good girl!"

"I can't believe you can ..." Krillin started, but the mare looked at him and gave an annoyed neigh. Goku continued to stroke her head and said:

"Shoosh, shoosh! Look at me, babe, look only at me," he said, turning her head softly to him, now caressing her long and shining mane saying: "Calm down, girl, calm down... don't be so moody, babe!"

The animal let itself be gently caressed for some time, and then Goku released her and said: "No more sugar for today, girl ... too much will hurt your beautiful teeth."

He stepped out of the pen and took the packet of sugar from Krillin, saying:

"Got work to do this afternoon?"

"Well, there are some haystacks to ..."

"Come on!" Said the boy, and Krillin gave him a bored look. It was terrible to have a coworker more willing than he was.

* * *

After spending the afternoon working in the stall with Krillin, Goku went to his wagon and released it from the donkey, which he tied to a stump. He then, to Old Roshi's surprise, took the cart by its rods and charged out to the front of Old Briefs' shop.

"Hi, sir," he said to Old Briefs' surprise. "I have some furs to sell, do you care?" - "Bulma!" He called, and the girl who had sold the sugar appeared at the door of another store with a hostile expression "rate these peels for me?"

Half an hour later, there were more than fifty rabbit huddles huddled on the counter, three beautiful, well-groomed deer hides, more than ten wolf pelts, some twenty raccoon pelts, and one huge, impressive black bear fur.

"You're a great hunter ..." the girl said, but with some disdain, "but I don't know if I can sell all these furs ..."

"We can sell, Bulma! Especially if we send to New Sadala ..."

Bulma glared at her father, who fell silent.

"I understand that you want to bargain..." said Goku. "I didn't take the skins to New Salad because I want fast money. It would take me days to get there with my poor old donkey..."

"One dollar per skin," Bulma said, "take it or leave it. Goku didn't lose his smile when he said: "Two dollars for each rabbit, three for each raccoon, five for each wolf, ten for each deer, and twenty for the bear."

"Done," said old Briefs, running over the girl who said:

"Why do you call me if you always ignore my bargains?" She looked into the wagon and asked, holding out her hand. "How much do you want for that?"

She held a golden and bright sphere, lightly orange-shaded, which seemed made of some exotic kind of glass or so, with four red stars engraved on its face.

"This," said Goku, taking the ball and stuffing it into his shirt pocket, "is not for sale. Nor my saddle. In two days, I'll need it."

"Two days?" asked Bulma, puzzled.

"Yes. The time it will take me to tame the wild horse Mr. Roshi gave to me."

"That pervert old man!" said Bulma, boldly, entering her store again, "I doubt someone can even tame that nasty evil mare!"

Goku stared at the girl as she walked into the store and the old man said: "Forgive my daughter ... she is sometimes a little thick. I granted that beautiful horse from New Sadala to her, but it was so wild that Bulma couldn't even get close to her… I wish she were more humorous… but widowhood didn't do her any good."

Goku shrugged. Half an hour next, he was back in Mr. Roshi's stall and said: "Where can we eat? "Right here," said the old man, "do you like dried meat and beans?"

"They haven't invented anything I don't eat yet," said Goku excitedly, sitting on a stump near the old man.

* * *

Two days later, as he had said, Goku rode the mare for the first time. He had spent two packets of sugar, and Krillin said dismissively: "At least it was worth all that sugar, huh?"

"Certainly," said Goku, absent to the malice in Krillin's words, "but have you ever bought a good horse like that for thirty cents?"

Krillin's expression changed from disdain to awe, and he said: - "Worse he's right. What the hell!"

Goku rode for a moment, leading the mare happily across the pen.

"Look how beautiful she is, Krillin... riding on her is like being on a cloud ..."

"You have never been on a cloud ..." said the other with rudeness.

"True ... but now I know how it is. It will be called Golden Nimbus!" He said as he took another hike around the pen. "Krillin, open the gate!"

"Are you crazy? What if she freaks out?"

"My Golden Nimbus will not freak out!" he patted her neck kindly. "She is very well educated, my babe!"

"If you think so ..." The boy opened the gate, and Goku galloped out of it. "Lucky damn," said Krillin enviously.

Goku rode down the side street and walked to the end of the main road, laughing idly at the lightness of the mare's gallop, then turned toward the church and accelerated the gallop, thinking of going around behind the church. But, as the horse headed toward it, a girl came out of a house right next to the church, carrying a large tin of milk that seemed full, not realizing that he was approaching.

Goku grabbed the reins and shouted, "Ow!", causing the mare to rear up slightly too close to the girl, who startled and dropped the brass to the ground, spilling milk everywhere.

"Are you... okay?" Goku awkwardly asked the girl, who was frowning at him. She was very young, with very fair skin and very black hair falling in a long braid by the side of the hat she wore.

"But what kind of idiot canter at this speed near a church?"

she shouted, and Goku bowed his head awkwardly.

"I..." he started, but she cut him off abruptly: "I should make you lick that spilled milk, you idiot!" She said, red-faced, walking back into the house.

Goku stood for a moment staring at the closed house door, thinking of a way to apologize to the girl, that he had the impression of knowing from somewhere.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. There is a character that is not quite a character but I LOVE and miss it, because it fades after the first part of Dragon Ball Z: the Golden Nimbus or just Nimbus. I always find a way to include it in my stories. Here, in the impossibility of literally being a cloud, she became a beautiful mare I thought was the famous Akhal Teke breed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Nfuw6aPvDY  
2\. I confess that I found Bulma and Kuririn quite annoying and obnoxious in this chapter, but keep in mind that they will get better over time and, I promise, have a great time in this story.  
3\. Purposely, as like in the classic series, Master (Mr., here) Roshi, Krillin, and Bulma cannot ride our cloud. But Chi-chi, yes, as summer will see.  
4\. Bulma is not going to mean a lifetime with Goku, but it will always be a little annoying with him. Oh yes, the story is GoChi and VegeBul. Do not think that this pet peeve of it will go down in romance because I don't even believe that love/hate romance something enjoyable. And because I am not a crackship fan. For me, there is no way to change: Goku is made for Chi-Chi and Bulma, of course, for Vegeta.  
5\. Talking about Chi-chi, I promise she won't scream the whole story. But once in a while, she will, with good reason. And of course, she's the milk girl. And of course, she already knew him. And, yes, he promised to marry her as a child.  
6\. This Goku is not as naive as the anime, because he had Grandpa Gohan to guide him until he was 19. But he remains a little fool sometimes.  
7\. The opening quote in this chapter is about the gunslinger Roland Deschain, from the book series "The Dark Tower," but it applies perfectly to West Sayan's Goku.  
8\. A soundtrack suggestion for this chapter:  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hIZFggpAVA


	4. Chapter 3 - Birds of Prey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We'll know how Vegeta and Raditz grew up when the pack of the birds of prey assault the stagecoach from New Sadala to West Sayan  
This chapter is dedicated to my friend @Gabiarty

> _He was just different. He was shaped in some firm forging of past circumstances for other things. _
> 
> **(Jack Scheafer – Shane)**

* * *

High on a hill near West Sayan, three men on horseback watched the road. They were at a vantage point, hidden behind a cluster of bushes where they could watch the way from New Sadala to West Sayan unseen. And that was essential when trying to assault the stagecoach.

The tallest of them was also the hugest. Riding a colossal horse like himself, dark-haired and with a long, shiny black mane, the man had long dark strand that ran down his back to his waist. The hat did not hide the pronounced entrances and barely contained the rebelliousness of his hair, perched precariously over his head. He had a mocking expression and mischievous, rude eyes that stood out, very black, on his bold, haughty face. He wore a gray shirt, a brown vest, faded jeans, and a black belt and boots with a pair of silver spurs that stood out. His thick, muscular thighs were tense over the saddle, and he sometimes stroked the handle of a knife at his waist, beside a sizeable black-handled revolver. Looking impatient, he rolled a cigarette and asked the man beside him to light it.

In contrast to the restlessness of the hairy man, the man who lit his cigarette with a lighter seemed calm and stared placidly at the road. His completely bald head was hidden under a gray hat, and he was much older than his two companions. He had a goatee and black mustaches where white streaks were already visible, and his body was solid too. He was dressed in a red and black plaid shirt and jeans, his boots and belt were well worn, and his mahogany-handled revolvers gleamed at his full waist. His horse had gray fur mixed with dark spots. He put the lighter down just after lighting the other's cigarette and said to the slimmest and shortest of the three:

"It seems the stagecoach is late today, Vegeta."

The third man just shook his head. Riding a huge black horse with silky mane, he looked even smaller compared to the other two. His hair, as black and unruly as the first guy's, stuck out against the hat he wore. The boy seemed to have a predilection for black because everything he wore, from boots to hat to pants, shirt, and vest, was entirely black. Only his pistols, his belt buckle, where an anchor-like symbol stood out, and his spurs were silver. He looked at the horizon and said, doing a mental calculation:

"We have two more hours of sunshine ... if they don't show up soon, we'll have to get out of here and hide in the curve of three crosses."

"I hate that place," said the hairy man.

"You can enjoy and put flowers on your traitor father's cross, Raditz." Vegeta teased, glancing from side to side as Raditz threw his cigarette on the ground and said:

"At least my father died standing up. Not poisoned in bed by a slut ..."

"Stop," said the man between them sharply, "how many times do I have to say that you are now in the pack and have to stop these antics if you don't want to get shot from Freeza?"

They both fell silent, but brooded over their mutual hatred, as they always did. The only thing that prevented the two guys from venting this hatred and dueling to death was precisely the guardianship of the man between them. Nappa took care of both, despite the rest of the pack mocking him, since they were boys and turned them into men. Vegeta had been collected by him at his house at the age of nine, as soon as his father was poisoned, and Raditz had survived the slaughter that had killed his family when he was only six.

The reason for such hatred was Vegeta's idea that Raditz's father had participated in his father's death, and Raditz found that his father had been wrongfully accused of the betrayal that led to the end of Vegeta, the father, and therefore had died... Their mutual resentment and survival instinct made them ignore the one who was indeed responsible for the death of both Bardock and Vegeta's father, the same man to whom they had sworn allegiance a few years earlier when they had been admitted to the pack: Freeza. And Nappa, while preventing the friction from becoming critical, preferred that their rivalry remain to see them in a futile revolt that could both lead to death at the hands of the pack chief.

Suddenly, at a distant point, they could see the dust of the road stirring as a carriage drawn by a set of 6 horses appeared. It was the stagecoach headed for West Sayan.

Raditz looked at Nappa and pulled the scarf around his face to his nose. Vegeta and Nappa did the same and silently descended the road that surrounded the hill. Vegeta calculated that in 10 minutes, they would intercept the stagecoach.

* * *

The stagecoach left the prairie that surrounded Paozu Mountain and began to climb the steep hill that started to rise to the plateau where West Sayan stood. His driver was a young but half-fat guy wearing a thick goatee and long hair, caught in a ragged ponytail that spread like a tuft over his grubby old suede hat. He led the team of horses with a penciled, sulky look because he knew they were entering the most complicated stretch of the trip.

Suddenly he felt the throb behind him. He tried to accelerate by shouting at the horses and hitting them with a whip, but it was pointless because he soon saw the black horse and its occupant paired with it. Believing he could get away with it, he still tried to whip the animals once more, but surprisingly, the guy stood in the horse's saddle and drew his weapon, jumping almost immediately into the carriage ride without losing his balance and already putting the revolver right under his chin.

"Stop this junk cabinet if you want to live, insect." He said with unmistakable pleasure in his voice.

"Ohhhhhhhhh!" He said and gripped the leather reins, making the team of horses stop immediately. He gasped at the thief who had half his face covered by a handkerchief as the man asked:

"What's valuable to us, chubby?"

"I have no idea. I am a driver only."

Another man climbed in and hitched his wrists with leather straps saying:

"So be quiet, and nothing will happen to you ... and when you get to West Sayan, have a convenient forgetting about our appearance ..."

"I was repeatedly mugged by you for two years, and I still can't describe your face, bald. I have no interest in what is under your scarf!"

Nappa laughed and slapped the driver on the head, who lay on his side, evidently terrified.

"Good of you to collaborate," he said as Vegeta jumped out of the wagon and prepared to open the stagecoach doors with Raditz, who was already on the other side, his revolver in his fist. Nappa gestured, and the two opened the doors, each on one side, and pointed to the three frightened passengers of the stagecoach. Meanwhile, Nappa climbed the carriage roof to rummage through the packages and chests strapped to the roof.

"Out," growled Raditz, pulling out a short, bearded man with a face that resembled a cat with narrowed eyes.

Soon after, he pulled both women. One was taller and evidently very young and had blue hair. Raditz grinned at how beautiful she was, with a statuesque body and breasts so tight inside the bodice that part of them was visible through the cleavage. Soon after a smiling blond lady came out saying:

"Calm down, calm down ... you don't have to shoot us, hehe."

"Nobody has to get hurt," Raditz said. "Ladies, just pass the all that is worthy... And you..."

"Humph!" said the man, taking a watch from his pocket, "I'm starting my life in West Sayan badly. That's all I have, I'm just the new doctor hired for the place of the dead."

While Raditz searched the passengers, Vegeta suspended the seat of the carriage to see if there was any chest or anything of value. He found a box, which he opened and found that it was carrying a significant amount of money. He gave a crooked smile under his handkerchief and said:

"They don't really learn ..." He took the box, which was very heavy, and carried it to his saddle, where he tied it and shouted to Nappa: "I found a shipment, Eagle."

"Great Falcon, do the passengers have jewels, Hawk?"

"The doctor here gave me a nice watch. Can you pass me your rings?" He asked, being charming and polite to the blonde lady, who giggling gave him his wedding ring and more two: one with a pearl and a prettier gold ring, which had a brilliant solitaire.

"The rings go, and the fingers stay, that's what I always say," she said with a smile, and Raditz thought she must have many possessions to lose valuable things so serenely. He turned to the younger girl and said:

"And you, doll? Can you pass me this necklace?”

"It's a fake jewel, lad ... pure imitation."

"Then you won't mind losing her," Raditz said and reached into his necklace, yanking it without bothering to snap the clasp. He took the opportunity to slide his hand over the naked half of her breast as he carried the necklace into his pocket.

"Oh," she said, "how rude," she pouted at him, and he laughed.

"The earrings, too, young lady."

The girl snorted and snatched the two earrings angrily, extending them grudgingly to Raditz, who took both of them and took the opportunity to touch the hand that extended them ingratiatingly. The girl squinted at him, who said:

"I ended up here ... Pass the rope, Eagle ..."

Nappa, who had already climbed out of the hitchhike, took a rope from his horse's saddle and helped Raditz tie the passengers outside the stagecoach as Vegeta finished the carriage's scrutiny, where he earned a few more valuables. When he took a black briefcase, the short man asked:

"Young man ... this is just my medical bag." Please do not leave a poor doctor without his working tools.

The guy raised a single eyebrow and opened the suitcase, noting that there were, in fact, only a few glass syringes, surgical knives, an amputation saw, and some tweezers and clips. With an expression of displeasure, he closed everything and said:

"Ok, old man. I hope I never need you to use any of that on me ..."

He gestured to the two others, and the three climbed on their horses, racing down the road in the opposite direction to West Sayan. Ahead, they turned off the primary way near Vegetown, following a narrow path to Freeza's hideout. A while after they disappeared, the blond woman said, in a cheerful way that did not match the situation at all:

"Ohohohoh ... It looks like we were victims of the famous 'Birds of Prey,' right?"

"Shut up, crazy old woman!" Said the blue-haired girl "damn handsome hairy ... that necklace was a gift from a senator! It was my best gem!"

"Oh dear, with this face and body, I bet you'll get more soon ... Did you say you remind me of my daughter a lot?"

"Since we boarded New Sadala, about twenty times ..." sighed the girl in resignation, "but I doubt senators go to West Sayan's saloon." She added.

"Ladies ... my big question is: who will get us out of here? "Said the doctor, still clearly upset.

* * *

The 'Birds of Prey' ignored their action had been observed the whole time by someone gifted for seeing without being seen. Very well hidden behind the greenery, an Amerindian with mohawk hair and three black eyes which missed no detail of what they saw, patiently waiting until the bad guys to come out of their hiding place. When everything went silent except for the complaints of the blue-haired passenger, he emerged from his hiding place and appeared before the stagecoach.

"AAA MY GOD AN INDIAN!" Cried the blue-haired girl. He will tear off our scalps!"

The Indian gave a half-smile and headed for the wagon ride. The driver, still lying in fear of falling if he tried to get up badly, saw him and said, relieved:

"Tienshin!" Help me out here.

With two quick steps, the native climbed into the hitchhike and untied him. Then said:

"Tienshin saw everything, Yajirobe."

"And as usual, you did nothing."

"Tienshin never get in white people crimes. Fire iron kills."

"I know, I know ... they had six guns, and I wouldn't face them if I had just a bow and an ax like you."

The native smiled faintly, and Yajirobe asked:

"Can you free the passengers?"

"No," said the guy honestly, "the girl with the sky hair is afraid of Tienshin." He stood and jumped out of the wagon, "and Tienshin does not help anyone who believes that Tenshin pulls scalps out."

The driver swore a curse word as he got out of his car to release the passengers. He still said aloud to the native who was already disappearing in the woods ahead:

"I can't stand being robbed on this route anymore, Tienshin."

The native turned thoughtful and said:

"Looking for friend Goku, Yajirobe. He now in your city. Courageous and good with a fire iron. Goku can protect Yajirobe's wagon."

"Goku, is it?" Said Yajirobe, struggling with the rope knots. "Let's see who this friend of Tienshin is."

* * *

Later the three robbers arrived at the farm where Freeza was hiding. They passed an old wooden gate with a lizard drawn in red on its jamb, then a long camp of wretched men, a series of wooden huts, and finally came to the farmhouse, which had a spacious storehouse, a Barn and a big house.

They dismounted, summoning a boy to take care of the horses, and entered the massive headquarters of the farm, where only the bandits closest to Freeza were admitted. Vegeta and Nappa sat at the large living room table and opened a bottle of Bourbon, laughing. Raditz looked at them and turned his back on them.

"Aren't you going to drink? Asked Nappa. It was the best heist of the year, we took a pile."

"You know I don't sit down to drink with displeasing people." Especially with this one ...

"If you want to sit here, worm, I'll get up with great pleasure," Vegeta said sarcastically. I don't care about the drinking company. Even more yours."

"No, stay there, young ladies. I have my own companion," he showed a cheap bottle of whiskey that he kept with him "I prefer my guitar. In the absence of a woman is the best partner..."

He went after his guitar and saw that he was not in the room. He reached the porch and saw a new boy named Orlen strumming his precious instrument. He laughed. He unsheathed the knife, which always carried around his waist, and approached the boy. Suddenly he took him by the neck and said:

"Who authorized you to take my dear guitar boy?"

"I ..." The boy couldn't sound coherent. Raditz laughed and released him, taking his guitar and standing up, brandishing the knife. "Stay away from this girl's thin waistband here if you don't want a sharp knife around your neck, you idiot. Here the status and the hierarchy are respected. And I am at the top for more time than you."

He strode purposefully into his room and sprawled on the bed, sitting with his guitar in his lap. Then he opened the bottle he'd left there and sipped it straight from the neck. He laughed, that warmed his voice, inspired to sing. He checked the guitar tuning and began:

> _I wake up in the morning_
> 
> _And I raise my weary head_
> 
> _I've got an old coat for a pillow_
> 
> _And the earth was last night's bed_
> 
> _I don't know where I'm going_
> 
> _Only God knows where I've been_
> 
> _I'm a devil on the road_
> 
> _A six gun lover_
> 
> _A candle in the wind_
> 
> _When you're brought into this world_
> 
> _They say you're born in sin_
> 
> _Well at least they gave me something_
> 
> _I didn't have to steal or have to win_
> 
> _Well they tell me that I'm wanted_
> 
> _Yeah I'm a wanted man_
> 
> _I'm colt in your stable_
> 
> _I'm what Cain was to Abel_
> 
> _Mister catch me if you can_
> 
> _I'm going down in a blaze of glory_
> 
> _Take me now but know the truth_
> 
> _I'm going down in a blaze of glory_
> 
> _Lord I never drew first_
> 
> _But I drew first blood_
> 
> _I'm no ones son_
> 
> _Call me young gun_

Outside someone shouted:

"The singer boy started… you should use that ability with women, Raditz."

"I sang to your mother, and we went to bed!" He shouted happily.

At the living room table, Nappa laughed, but Vegeta said quietly:

"Cheeky worm. He doesn't talk about my mother like that, he's not even that moron."

Nappa laughed. The two boys that he had become men. He liked them very much, but he knew they would never understand each other.

And maybe that way was better for the pack, as enemies, because if they came together, they could be dangerous.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. So, pretty much all of West Sayan's main characters are introduced.  
2\. Vegeta and Raditz did not grow up as friends, as we can see, but the premise of their hatred, as you can imagine, is false. The truth appears later.  
3\. The blue-eyed girl, you may have concluded, is not Bulma, but Maron. And Master Karim is a doctor for obvious reasons.  
4\. Tienshin Han is a stray native from his own tribe, to which he eventually returns. It was not always so, there is a reason for this detachment.  
5\. The quotation in this chapter serves both Raditz and Vegeta. We will see later that the way they were raised influenced their view of life. And Raditz has been taken younger, too.  
6\. Only the first part of Bon Jovi's "Blaze of Glory" is cited in this chapter. I thought it unnecessary for the whole letter. As I said in the prologue, it is a significant poetic license to include this song from the movie "Young Guns," but it is a song that I imagined Raditz singing, so it is the soundtrack of this chapter.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfmYCM4CS8o


	5. Chapter 4 - Promises to Grandpa Gohan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Goku remembers his Grandfather, died 2 years before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am entirely gun-averse, especially in the hands of children and teenagers, although I am writing about the Old West, but I would like to say that there is a reason why Goku will win the weapons at age thirteen and not later, which will be revealed in Chapter 17. Also, remember that this story takes place in a context where it is relatively common.

> _“It was strange how some of childhood's words and ways fell at the wayside and were left behind, while others clamped tight and rode for life, growing the heavier to carry as time passed.” _
> 
> **(Stephen King, The gunslinger” The Dark Tower I)**
> 
> * * *

It was a chilly spring night in West Sayan. On his sixth night in town, Goku was lying on top of a soft haystack in the uncovered part of Mr. Roshi's corral. The boss and Kuririn were sleeping in the stable quarters, but Goku, wakeful, had decided to stay there, just looking at the stars and thinking of his grandfather.

It had been two years since grandpa died when Goku was 19. However, the boy missed him every day because the old man had been the only family he had ever known. For many years Goku had believed that he was really the old man's grandson, but when he was twelve, his grandfather had told his whole story: how he had survived a slaughter caused by Freeza and how his father had entrusted him with these relics: a buckle of golden belt, the strange golden sphere, which seemed to glow dimly, with four red stars and the map.

Goku had only been to school for a short time but had learned to read enough to know that this map was said to lead to other balls like this one, and although he thought it was a stunning object, he still saw no need to go after six others. His father had died protecting that treasure, but he didn't know precisely why.

On the other hand, the brutal death of his family haunted him. Grandfather had said that no one should know that his real name was Kakarotto, because it could be risky; after all, he had escaped Freeza's pack. After discovering the truth, Goku had left flowers on his parents' grave every year, wondering what they would look like. Sometimes he cried on those occasions. But several times, he imagined himself challenging the dreaded and legendary thug to avenge his family. Maybe that was why he had become such a good shooter.

When he was 13, Goku got a pair of revolvers from his grandfather and soon learned to shoot. His grandfather, who had never been an ace in the shot, had been surprised by the boy's ease in shooting and hitting any target with surprising speed. Goku also learned to fight with fists and legs, thanks to Tienshin, who had not always been a friend.

When he was 11 years, Goku had chased a wild pied horse for almost a full day just to see him laced by the young native, who was nearly 18 at the time. The boy jumped on the guy, and the two started a fight of kicks and punches that ended the much larger Amerindian, moving away from Goku and looking puzzled. Suddenly he smiled and said:

"Stay with the horse, Son of Heaven.”

Goku, who was a pretty tough boy, after all, didn't agree with the other's quitting and walked after the Indian.

"What is this story about ‘son of heaven’?”

"You old Gohan boy, no? You Son of Heaven to him. Horse is yours.”

"You're a coward. Don't you want to fight me? I want to win the horse in a fair fight!”

"You grow a little, so Tienshin fights you."

Because he called Goku "son of heaven," the boy began to urge his grandfather to tell him what he meant, so Gohan ended up explaining everything about the murders when he believed that Goku was old enough to understand, and Tienshin's role in that story. Then, Goku became friends with the native, who also enjoyed the boy's almost savage manner. Tienshin soon said, as he began to grow older, that Goku should quickly learn to be a man.

So when he turned 14, Goku asked his grandfather to take the horses for sale alone, after all, the idea of adulthood started early in those sites. The logical choice would be to send him to West Sayan, who was closer, but as Frieza's pack was acting much more on that part of the road than toward New Sadala, so, Gohan convinced Goku that it would be better for him to take the prettiest and healthy horses to sell in the larger city, where the old man thought he was safer.

And so, young Goku met New Sadala, and, contrary to what anyone could imagine, the city did not affect him. After being tricked several times and angry, he eventually learned and became very good at trading horses, and that's what he did for the next five years until his grandfather became ill. Goku decided to take care of him, so he abandoned the breeding a little. Seeing that his grandfather became sicker and sicker, he did not leave his bedside, always trying to meet all his needs.

One night Goku slept, as usual, at the head of Gohan's bed when he was awakened by the old man poking him softly.

"Grandpa?" He said startled. "Do you need anything?" Are you feeling any pain?"

His grandfather's eyes looked at him with great affection. He stroked his grandson's spiky hair and said:

"I see you have become a man, Goku."

The boy nodded. Somehow, he realized his grandfather was leaving, but couldn't say anything. The old man looked at him and said:

"You shouldn't spend your whole life here, Goku. Go to a town ... but not a place full of bums like Tullace or Vegetown, go to New Sadala or West Sayan, you can choose ..."

"I prefer West Sayan. I liked it there when you took me when I was a child."

"Whatever. Build a house. Do different things, my son ... different than I did. This was all very hard, especially after my beloved wife died ... so you came. I don't know exactly how, but I managed to make you a man. And you are fearless..."

"Grandpa ... you can't get tired ..."

"I'm already tired, Goku… tired of this body, this life. Promise me some things ..."

"Yes, grandpa, I promise ..."

"You're not going to be one of those drunken guys, nor will you waste your time on gambling. It destroys a man."

"Yes, grandpa."

"Go to West Sayan. Get out of the bush ... get a job where you can use your strength, son."

"Yes, I'll do it."

"When you can, go after that treasure your father left the map. It may be of great value. That bright sphere ... it must have worth something."

"All right, Grandpa," he promised.

"And more importantly, you are going to marry a good girl. She doesn't have to be very pretty, but you must believe she's pretty. And she must like you and smile to you always. She must find you funny, laugh at your jokes ... and everything else will be easier."

It was a somewhat complicated promise. Goku had met girls when he went to New Sadala, and for some reason, some of them approached him with giggles and looked interestedly at him. But he wasn't sure what to do when they were around. But still, he shook his head and said:

"Yes, grandpa. I will marry such a girl.”

The old man gave a tired smile and then fell asleep. Goku caressed his grandfather's face and went back to sleep, reclining on his headboard, worried about the old man's ragged breathing.

He had a nightmare in which a tall, hairy and muscular man was trying to kill him. And he called him by the name Kakarotto, the one his grandfather had said was his real name, which he should never use again. Goku put his hands on his hips and found that his pistols had disappeared. He woke up sweating cold and looked at the bed where his grandfather slept.

But old Son Gohan had fallen asleep forever.

Goku would always remember the promises he had made to his grandfather, but it would take a while to prepare to keep them. He had asked Tienshin for help, and, along with the young Indian, had buried his grandfather under a huge walnut tree next to his wife's grave that had died a few years before Goku appeared.

He still spent two years doing the same things he did when his grandfather was alive, taking horses to sell in New Sadala, hunting, planting vegetables in the garden. Sometimes he would sit under the walnut tree after picking the falling walnuts and talk about his days with his grandfather and grandmother, whom he had never known, even though he knew that only the rest of their bodies were there. .the spirit, as his grandfather said, would be somewhere among the stars. He didn't want to leave what was left of his grandfather behind.

But soon, the promise made to Gohan began to bother him, and when he last went to New Sadala, he began looking for a buyer for his grandfather's small farm.

He eventually sold the farm to a man who had bought other properties in the area to grow corn. After making the man swear he would never cut the big walnut tree, he gathered all his things together and took only the old donkey that helped plow his grandfather's little plantation. He decided to go to West Sayan because he had fond memories of the place.

Until he was eleven, his grandfather always took him to trade the horses, and at least once a month for the church service of the place. He never understood much what Pastor Ox said, but after worship, he always ended up playing with the Pastor's daughter. They were friends, he and Chichi, who he remembered as a little girl in a pink dress and long braids.

When he decided to go to West Sayan, in part, it was because of a promise he'd made to her at eleven. In the grounds behind the church, where the Pastor raised four beautiful cows that supplied milk to all of West Sayan, under an apple tree, the girl had asked him:

"Goku, do you want me to be your wife? I can make a lot of food for you."

At the time, he didn't know what that meant, though it was some kind of game, as she talked about food, he said yes. Later, when asked what his grandfather was about, old Gohan laughed a lot and explained to him what marriage was like, what it was like to spend a lifetime with someone else, and take care of that person.

"I'd take care of Chichi," he thought. "She's my friend." A while later, Grandpa explained about babies, how they were born from inside women's bellies, and how they would end up inside. Then he asked why Grandpa Gohan and his wife had not had babies, and he said that sometimes couples simply were not blessed with children, with no reason.

And when Goku decided to go to West Sayan, figured he could keep both promises: if Chichi had become a good girl and laughed at his jokes, he could marry her, and wherever Grandpa Gohan could be, would be happy. Was she still there? There were seven years since the last time he had been at West Sayan. He had not yet visited Pastor Ox's Church or house because, after his arrival, he had worked hard at Mr. Roshi's stable every day. The only day he had strolled around the city had been the day he guided Golden Cloud and nearly ran over the girl who had spilled the milk.

Goku shifted on the haystack and looked once more at the stars. One day, just before bed and not waking, his grandfather had told him that after he left, he would look at him from the stars. Goku sighed and wondered which twinkler his grandfather would be right now, and wondered if he happened to see Goku as himself or as a star as well. Part of his promise to his grandfather was fulfilled: he had left the farm after he collected the money to build a house in West Sayan. He had spent nothing of the amount he got after selling the farm and the last horses.

The wife was missing. He closed his eyes and, for a brief moment before he fell asleep, thought of the girl who had spilled the milk, not knowing exactly why. Somewhere in his mind, she and Chichi were related, but before he recognized where he knew her face from, he fell asleep and thought of nothing else.

* * *

The next day, when Krillin and Mr. Roshi got up, he was already stacking hay to give the horses. Mr. Roshi smiled with satisfaction and ordered Krillin to go to the Pastor's house for a pint of milk for breakfast. Goku almost volunteered for the task, wondering if he could talk to the Pastor and ask about Chichi, but for some reason, just thinking about it made his face flush.

Morning work, for him, was always the easiest: stacking hay, feeding the horses, brushing their manes. It was far better than gathering manure and washing the stables, which was usually afternoon work. But he had not even finished his morning work when he heard a deep, low voice ringing at the corral door. Mr. Roshi went to answer it, and when Goku glanced over, he saw that it was the Shepherd standing in front of the door.

Curious, the boy walked outside and smiled when he recognized him. Pastor Ox was still husky, muscular, and smiling. He looked at him for a moment and said good morning when Goku interrupted him.

"Pastor, it's me, Goku. Mr. Gohan's grandson."

"Goku? Little Goku?"

Goku laughed and blushed slightly before saying:

"Well, I grew up, right? But it's me."

Suddenly he found himself enveloped by the giant man's bear hug and reciprocated with a laugh. She had always liked the Pastor.

"Glad you're here, my son… but…"

"My grandfather died, Pastor, unfortunately."

The man looked at him with pity and said:

"I'm so sorry, my son. Are you all alright?"

"Oh yes, I am, I miss him, but it's been two years. And I decided to move here." He then said cautiously, "What about Chichi?"

"Wow, Chichi will love to hear you came back! When you stopped coming to the church with old Gohan, she was heartbroken!

"Is she okay?" He asked, his eyes wide and shining.

"Yes, yes, Chichi is doing well."

"Goku," interrupted Mr. Roshi, "Pastor Ox asked me to borrow one of my employees to paint the church. I would send Krillin, but I find him clumsy.

"I can go," said Goku, rolling up the sleeve of his plaid shirt. "I always painted the farmhouse for Grandpa," he said, a broad smile on his face.

"Well, said the Pastor," I don't want you to work for free. I can pay two dollars a day and all the milk you can drink, my son.

"Wow, when do I start? I love milk!"

* * *

That afternoon, shortly after lunch, Goku went to the church, and the Pastor showed him all the material that had come from New Sadala to paint the church. There were some cans of white paint, brushes, and rollers. She asked if he was afraid of heights because he would have to climb the roof to paint the tower, and Goku said he had no problem with that.

The Pastor asked to paint the back of the church first. Goku thought it would be quite easy, and it was the only windowless wall. So as not to get dirty, he took off his shirt and spread it over a fence while opening and mixing a can of paint. The Pastor asked if he wanted some milk before he started, and he said yes. Then he said he would tell Chichi to bring it to him, and his heart for some reason sped up.

"Chichi, bring some milk here!

He was on his back, trying to act naturally as he fell down the wall with white paint when he heard the approaching footsteps. The Pastor told her as he approached:

"Daughter, do you remember little Goku, old Gohan's grandson? He offered to paint the church.

He turned slowly, not knowing exactly what made him nervous. When he saw the girl standing with a bottle of milk just behind him beside the Pastor, his eyes widened, and he found out why he thought he knew her from somewhere:

Chichi was the girl he had almost run over on the Golden Cloud ride.

And she didn't look at him in the slightest way who wanted to smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. I figured that living with his grandfather until he was 19 would be less naive and uninformed than he was initially in the anime. And I imagined their emotional bond strong enough for Goku to really feel his grandfather's death very much.  
2\. Goku knows part of his past, but there are still many gaps: he doesn't know, for example, that he has a brother. And what your brother has become. He knows the balls have value, but he doesn't know which ones. Will he ever be excited to go after the balls?  
3\. Well, we know that Goku has this way of taking promises always very seriously. And they made two promises that aren't incompatible, but ... Will Chichi smile at him?  
4\. He spilled her milk out of tremendous misfortune. But, like him, did she not recognize him? As usual, Goku did a little bullshit right away, but let's hope it is all right.  
5\. The passage from "The Gunslinger" that begins this chapter introduces in the book precisely a memory of Roland Deschain's childhood, in which he remembers an old master who taught him how to fight and shoot. Kind of what old Gohan went to Goku.


	6. Chapter 5 - The girl who spilled the milk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Goku and Chichi talk the first time after he arrived at West Sayan

"_Maybe - maybe love makes you suspicious and doubting. Is it true that when you love a woman, you are never sure - never sure of her because you aren't sure of yourself?"_

**(John Steinbeck, East of Eden)**

* * *

Goku blinked several times at Chichi and scratched his nose nervously, leaving a smear of white paint there. Then said:

"Chichi… How… how are you?

"I'm fine," she replied dryly. "Here's your milk." She handed him a bottle and was almost leaving when her father said,

"Chichi! Don't be rude! It's Goku, your childhood friend. You can't turn your back on him like that. "

"I have things to do, Daddy," she said, looking annoyed and avoiding looking at Goku, who was holding the bottle of milk with a childish look on his face.

"I have things to do now," said the Pastor, "I'm leaving. You kids should talk." He went out and walked toward the front of the church.

Goku looked down, embarrassed, and then said:

"Sorry, I mean, for when I almost ran you over that day."

"Oh, sure. I only lost 15 liters of milk ... " She said sarcastically.

"I can afford the milk if you want ..."

"No problem," she said, still avoiding looking at his face. Drink this and see if it's enjoyable. I boiled this morning. "

He raised the bottle to his lips and drank. Chichi looked briefly at his face. Milk dripped down the sides of his mouth, and then a trickle ran down his neck. She looked down, finding it embarrassing, and then noticed his naked torso, turning her face even more awkwardly, a slight blush staining her cheeks.

Goku didn't realize it, like a child, he had closed his eyes while drinking the fresh and tasty milk. It was a taste that reminded him of his childhood because when he grew older, he no longer came to West Sayan, nor did the Pastor deliver milk to their farm once a week. He took the bottle from his lips when it was halfway down and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, smiling brightly.

"Wow, how delicious!" He said, "I had forgotten how tasty milk was here!"

He smiled at Chichi and then said, more excitedly:

"Do you remember when we played near the apple tree, Chichi?"

"Yes," she said, fiddling with something in her white apron, evading looking at him, "but then you didn't come anymore ..."

"My grandfather started getting tired of coming to West Sayan a lot, so he chose to come only when he needed to bring the horses," he said, "and then, when I got older, he sent me to sell the horses in New Sadala and go to church there," he said, and then thought that he had never actually been to church at New Sadala. Chichi looked up at him and asked:

"Is New Sadala a beautiful city?"

He shrugged and said:

"It's big, more significant than West Sayan. Much bigger indeed. But I don't know if I can call it pretty. There are more horses, so there is more horse shit in the streets… " He laughed and looked at her hopefully, thinking she would laugh at the comment, but she remained severe.

"I always wanted to go there. My father never allowed it. He said it's not a city for a girl ... "

"Oh, I don't see why Chichi ... I met a lot of girls in New Sadala."

She looked at him, and a furious look appeared on her face for a moment.

"Oh, really? And are the girls in New Sadala beautiful? "

He shrugged, not quite understanding where she was going.

"Some. Others not. There are some until they are ugly. "

She looked at him for a moment and said:

"And you promised to marry any of them?"

He widened his eyes when she said that and said:

"No, Chichi. I didn't promise that to anyone else. Just you. "

He raised the bottle to his lips again to drink the rest of the milk. Meanwhile, Goku wondered if it was worth talking to her about the promise he made to his grandfather. He thought he could only fulfill his promise to marry her if she smiled at him. It was the only way to keep his grandfather's commitment, as well. He finished the milk and handed her the bottle.

"It was wonderful, Chichi. Thank you very much!"

She was looking at him a little perplexed. He had just spoken of his promise to her, but it was as if it meant absolutely nothing. She took the bottle, still with an air of anger and left. Suddenly he called her:

"Chichi ..."

She turned to him but said nothing. Then Goku asked:

"Can you bring me some more milk later, please?"

"I can," she said and grunted. Her father had still promised him all the milk he could drink. It was revolting. She walked into the house, annoyed. So she went to her room. The windows were closed, but she could see him through the slits of the shutters, but he couldn't see her. So for the first time, she allowed herself to really look at Goku.

He had his back to her, with a long-handled paintbrush that he dipped into the paint tub and then hummed on the wall. He had grown up a lot. When they were kids, he was a little stocky boy, absurdly strong for his size. And she had a silly crush on him, so much so that when his grandfather came alone, she was disappointed. More than once, she almost asked old Gohan to bring Goku with him at least once.

But Chichi was shy, incredibly shy. She kept imagining when she was younger, and she would marry Goku one day; after all, he'd promised her that. She had fantasized about this moment several times. She had ignored suitors, even remembering the day when she was 16 when a handsome newcomer named Yamcha had arrived in town. He'd also looked at her strangely, but since she was reputed to let no one get close, he soon courted Bulma, the shop lady who had arrived a few years earlier, and they got married.

But, Chichi was a lucky girl, after all. Shortly after two years, Yamcha got into a gold rush and apparently died of typhoid fever in a gold pan somewhere west of West Sayan. At least, her absence of interest in Yamcha saved her from becoming a young widow, like Bulma. She was always hoping that one day, Goku would return and immediately propose to her.

One day, however, she heard about the arrival in the town of young Goku. West Sayan was a tiny town where any news spread within minutes. She was paralyzed when she knew about that, thinking he would be looking for her soon; after all, they had been so close ... but that wasn't what happened. And Bulma, who didn't know him before, told her he had come to town, sold his father many skins, and bought only lumps of sugar. She even peered at him from distant, observing him in the stable, talking to Mr. Roshi and Krillin, and laughing. On top of that, he had become annoyingly handsome.

And the day he had appeared out of nowhere, riding a beautiful golden mare and almost running over her, she was really angry with Son Goku. Not only for nearly running over her or spilled milk but for the fact that he didn't recognize her. She recognized him immediately; after all, no one had that hair, that smile. She really wanted to strangle him.

But instead, she watched him from afar, behind the kneecaps of the windows, as he was methodically dipping the brush into the paint and scattering it on the growing whitening church wall. His shoulders broad, his arms muscular. She had seen some men working shirtless, not at all uncommon in the summer months. But she had never seen such a handsome boy without a shirt. In fact, she didn't remember seeing any prettier boy than he in her entire life.

She sat up in bed, annoyed as never before, thinking about his promise. He had never taken it seriously after all. She felt her face bloody, and her anger rising. But taking a deep breath, she thought she was a lady after all. She wasn't going to ask about his promise; he should honor his commitment to her by himself. She wouldn't be like a despaired girl anxious to marry. After a while, she looked at the clock on her nightstand. More than two hours had passed since she had left him painting the church. She took a deep breath and stood up. He should be thirsty.

* * *

Goku patted his forehead, feeling that he had left a stain of paint there. He had to stop being distracted, or he would get all dirty with paint. Not that it was a problem; at the end of the day, he would take a bath in the large tub of water they used to wash the horses and scrub the stains. It was more important to finish the back part of the church before the sun went down. But he was thirsty, very thirsty. He considered looking for Chichi for water, but it didn't seem polite to come to her door like this, sweaty and shirtless.

He was still intrigued by Chichi. Why didn't she smile anyway? When they were kids, she used to smile a lot and laugh at any nonsense he said. Now, besides not smiling, she still looked furious, and he couldn't figure out why. What had he said so bad? Was it because of the milk she had spilled because of him? But it had been an accident!

Suddenly he heard her voice calling him. He turned startled. She had brought him a pitcher of water and a glass, saying seriously:

"I don't think it should do very well to stay in this sun so long without drinking water."

"Gosh, Chichi," he flashed a wide, charming smile "I was really thirsty."

"I wondered," she said, looking down. Looking at that smile and Goku's bare torso disturbed her more than she would like to admit. She handed him a glass of water, and he drank at a stroke, asking for more water politely. He drank four more glasses of water and realized her bored look. He suddenly smiled at her and asked:

"Do you want me to pay for that milk I spilled? I swear I didn't mean it but ... "

"I told you no," she said brusquely, "but I was pretty annoyed at your inattention," she said that thinking not only about him almost running over her, but about returning to town and not having the slightest willingness to come to her.

He scratched behind his head and immediately regretted it, thinking he was going to get ink on his hair. Then he smiled and said:

"I think I'm a little distracted sometimes. Once I've been feeling weird all day and only at night realized it was because I had forgotten to put on my underwear, " he chuckled stupidly, and she blushed violently.

"That's not the proper kind of comment to make in front of a girl, Goku!" She turned around, still embarrassed and he said:

"Chichi ... can you bring me some more milk later?"

She considered not answering, but when she reached the door, she said:

"When you're done, call me!"

She slammed the kitchen door angrily and went back to her room. She was furious and still didn't know why.

* * *

Goku spent another two hours painting the wall, but just before sunset, he looked pleased with his work. If it went on like this, He would finish the whole painting in less than five days, even taking the job only after lunch. He looked at the Pastor's house and took a deep breath. He needed to try to make Chichi smile at him at least once.

There was a discreet knock on the kitchen door, and Chichi opened it sharply.

"What is it?" She asked, irritation still showing in her voice.

"It's just that you asked me to come when it was over ..." he pointed to the spotlessly painted wall. "See? I'm done. And I've already put the paints in the place your father showed me earlier. "

She stared at the wall, and he asked:

"Do you think it's good?"

"Yes, I'll get your milk."

He watched her move around the large kitchen. There was already a pan on the fire, he smelled tasty stew and assumed she was making dinner. Chichi, though rude to him, was graceful and delicate as she moved around the kitchen. She went to a large can of milk and filled a one-liter bottle, and brought it to him. He asked:

"So much boiled milk at once doesn't spoil it?"

"It lasts one day. A good deal we sell. But that one I'll put to ferment and make cheese tonight. "

"Wow! Do you make cheese? I love cheese; you know that? "

She looked at him, casually and handed over the bottle. He turned and drink with his eyes closed, just like a child, and she rolled her eyes. He gave her the empty bottle and said:

"Thanks..."

She stared at him, who was already turning his back and said, in a slightly softer way:

"Hang on. I'll give you some more milk for you to drink later if you want. My dad said I should give you all you could drink. "

He looked at her and flashed a beaming smile, but she didn't return it.

She went back to the kitchen and filled another bottle. When she turned and saw Goku standing, looking at her expectantly, with spots on his nose, face, forehead, she almost smiled. But then she remembered the promise he didn't seem willing to keep, and again she was irritated. She stomped over to him and, a second before extending the bottle, faced him, and said:

"Goku… Earlier, you spoke on the promise. In the commitment to marry me ... "

"Yes ... I remember the promise."

"And you came back to West Sayan to honor it?" She stared at him, still grave. And he thought he should be honest and talk about the conditions he had set out to marry her. But a moment before he opened his mouth, realized he shouldn't say he wouldn't marry her until she smiled at him. Somehow he knew she should do it spontaneously, not just so that he would keep his promise.

"Well…" he began. "I went back to West Sayan because I promised my grandfather some things. And these promises are a little more significant than what I made to you. "

"What could be more important than a wedding?" She asked, the irritation in her voice almost palpable. She squeezed the milk bottle so that he thought it might break in her hand.

"I… can't tell you. It was something between my grandfather and me. Our business ... but ... that doesn't mean I don't want to keep the promise I made to you ... but ... "

"What if I want to marry another man, Goku?"

He paused a moment and looked at her, puzzled.

"Is anyone else wanting to marry you? Do you want to marry someone else? "

She opened her mouth and closed and then said, looking to the side.

"No, there isn't, but ..."

"So, if no one else wants to marry you, I don't need to worry!" He said with a big smile, and that infuriated her.

Without saying anything else, Chichi simply turned the bottle of milk on Goku's head, who stood still and frightened by the fury of the young woman who said, a moment before slamming the kitchen door in his face:

"You're such a moron, Son Goku."

He stood there, perplexed, not understanding what he had done wrong. If Chichi'd been so mad when he'd made her spill some milk, why now she'd spilled an entire liter on his head? He had to admit, deep down, that he was quite disappointed: it really looked like Chichi would never smile at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Did you think it was going to be easy? No, folks, that's not the way things happen. Chichi has her reasons for not smiling easily, and Goku needs to learn a few things about her before he can make her smile.  
2\. But ... first, we need to know the other side of the young gunslinger and see him in action. Remember, he is a good shooter.  
3\. And in the next chapter, we'll finally visit Lunch's saloon, where Piccolo plays the piano, and Maron plays a little show.  
4\. But there are nasty goers in this saloon. There may be a problem. Prepare yourselves because the next chapter has gunshots and excitement.  
5\. The excerpt from this chapter is from a book that is considered one of the top ten novels written by an American author, a drama between two brothers who are completely different and end up dividing a girl's heart, and one of my favourite books at all.


	7. Chapter 6 - Saloon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goku goes to saloon to taste beer and watch Maron's show.

"_A man is what he is, Bob, and there's no breaking the mold."_

**(Jack Scheafer" Shane)**

* * *

When Goku entered the stable, he ran into Krillin, who looked at him in astonishment and couldn't help laughing when he saw the boy covered in milk and stained with paint.

"What did happen to you? It looks like you fell flat on a tin of milk. And how did you ended so encrusted with paint?"

Goku stared at his colleague and said:

"I'm kind of clumsy. I got a little dirty."

"And what about this milk?"

"Chichi threw it at me…"

"Chichi? That quiet girl who doesn't talk to almost anyone? What did you do to infuriate her like that, Goku? Did you try to kiss her or something?"

"Kiss her? No! I ... I was just talking to her. I have known her for many years, but she seems to have changed. We used to play a lot when we were children, and she used to laugh a lot … But now, she doesn't seem to find anything funny anymore ..."

"Girls are like that, Goku."

"I'm going to take a shower ..." he said, annoyed.

Clutched into the tub of water as he rubbed and brushed the paint stains, Goku tried to understand what had so maddened Chichi, to no avail. He wondered: How could he marry her if she kept throwing gallons of milk over her head? What if she didn't smile at him? How would he keep both promises?

For a moment, he remembered what she had said about marrying another man. Why would she do that? What if another guy really came along and wanted to marry her? Would she accept? Goku had never been jealous of nobody his entire life, so he couldn't tell why that idea made him angry. He didn't want to lose Chichi. The next day he would make her smile at him.

At last, she must smile someday. It was a mission now. When she smiled, everything else would be settled, after all... That was when he saw that Krillin and Mr. Roshi were not wearing nightwear.

"Where will you go? And is that awful smell from you, Krillin?" He asked, smelling a sweet and sickly aroma that came from his colleague.

"You don't have the slightest taste," said the other "this is my perfume! Girls love it!"

"Well, girls who love it shouldn't have a nose like you…"

"Goku, we're going to the saloon, don't you wanna go?" asked Krillin.

"What would I do there?" He said. "Is there food there? Because I'm starving!"

"There's oat soup and beef jerky over there on the stove," Mr. Roshi said. "Krillin and I had dinner early. We are going to the saloon, so we get ready. You should go too, it's a special night!"

"Special?" Goku rummaged through the oat soup on the stove, then sniffed it and decided to take it before dressing, because it was still a little hot. He sat at the meal table with the pan and a spoon and asked after the first spoon: "What's so special about saloon? When I was a little boy, my grandfather said there was a place for drunkards."

"Hey!" Said Mr. Roshi. "Old Gohan was also going to the saloon. He didn't take you because you were a child! But you are full-grown now, aren't you? You can have a beer with us there and see the latest girl Launch brought from Nova Sadala!"

"Maron," Krillin said dreamily, "I saw her, she's beautiful, she has blue hair."

"Blue hair? This isn't even that unusual ... if you cross the street, Bulma also has blue hair."

"They say," said Master Roshi "that Maron's show is spectacular ...

"What's a show?" Asked Goku, his mouth full of soup.

"Oh, I lost my temper," said Krillin. "If you want, find us there and take some coins to pay for the beer! I won't pay for you."

They left, and Goku still shouted:

"But I never even drank beer!"

He took the rest of the soup quietly. He didn't quite understand what could be so exciting about a saloon, a beer, or a blue-haired girl. But when he finished his dinner, he ended up getting dressed, but not as hard as Krillin or the boss, and how he always did, almost without feeling, put his revolvers on his waist, and walked toward the saloon.

A piano song played, and he could hear it long before it came in; it was lively, and he found it engaging. The saloon was the largest building in the square, but still not as large as the ones he had seen in New Sadala. He walked through the back and forth door and saw a slightly smoky environment full of men, some of whom he didn't know, but presumed to work on nearby farms. There were also some tables and a balcony, behind which was a beautiful blond woman of green eyes wiping a glass and looking bored. Not seeing Mr. Roshi or Krillin, he decided to sit right there on the first bench.

The blonde woman approached and watched him curiously.

"New here?" She asked, "are you going to drink something?

"I moved a few days ago," he said, "and I want a beer."

He was being moved by curiosity because he never drunk anything alcoholic. Suddenly he saw Mr. Roshi and Krillin, at the back of the room, near the small stage, playing cards with other men, and didn't want to get close because he didn't like the guys' faces. He then looked at the piano and saw that the person who played the happy music, to his surprise, was the funeral house owner. He was exotic, with his dark skin and white turban contrasting with his purple suit. He asked the girl at the counter:

"Is that man the owner of that coffin store?"

"Oh yes," she said, laughing, "our old Piccolo does a lot to survive. Not so many people die here, so he plays the piano in exchange for living in one of the rooms I rent. If you want to build a house or furniture, buy the wood from it, he has the best contacts in the southern sawmills. Coffins around here need to be cheap because the people are kind of poor "she put a tall foamy mug in front of him and said, "your beer, that's five cents."

He put the beer in his mouth and immediately scowled.

"Urg! It's bitter!"

"Of course, it's bitter. Did you think it was milk?" The woman asked, laughing.

"No ..." Goku said, embarrassed, "I never had drunk beer before."

"Well, you get used to it," she said. "You must have come because of the new girl, right? Everyone is here for her. I warn you: she won't stay with anyone she doesn't want, no matter how much money anyone offers me, if she wants to lie with someone, it's her choice. I'm not a pimp, and here it is not a brothel."

Stunned by the speech, all that remained was for Goku to ask:

"What is a brothel?"

She looked at him for a moment and suddenly realized her misjudgment and laughed.

"You're some hillbilly hick, right? How did you get here today?"

He pointed to Mr. Roshi and Krillin and said:

"They said I would come. But I'm not finding all that fun they said."

Moved by genuine sympathy, the girl said:

"What's your name? My name is Launch."

"I am Goku."

"Stay there, Goku. I liked you. Maybe you enjoy the show."

She continued with her tasks, and Goku kept trying to taste beer and finding it very bad. He couldn't know how he was going to like it, and after a few tries, he set the beer aside and asked Launch for water, which answered it promptly.

"Here, young lady," she said, taking the rest of his beer and drinking, "I hate waste," she said.

They ended up talking, and Launch explained to him that she had inherited her father's saloon, which had died when she was 16 and struggled to keep everything in check since quarrels and troublemakers always appeared. Then she showed him a considerable gun under the counter and said:

"If someone abuses, talk to 'Bob' here. My Best Friend."

He laughed. At that moment, the piano fell silent, and Launch excused herself, and a few minutes later, she appeared on stage and said:

"Ladies and gentlemen… you always asked me for a new attraction, and I brought it from New Sadala, the wonderful Maron!"

The pianist began to play a slower song, and a girl came across the side of the stage with weaving movements. Goku had never seen a girl with so little clothes on. She wore two fans, with which she covered and discovered herself, and although she was beautiful, Goku could not understand why all men but him were acting crazy.

She didn't even look thrilled doing that, he thought, but then she smiled, and he got the impression it had been for Krillin, and he thought, "I wanted Chichi to smile at me like that ...". And as incredible as it might seem, for a moment, he thought not only of Chichi smiling… but how beautiful she would look in a small outfit like the one the girl wore.

He didn't quite understand why it happened, but suddenly his heart sped up, and he swallowed hard. At the same time Goku felt something like what he often felt in the morning or during the shower, which compelled him to relieve himself the way he had discovered when was about 11, and that he had never had the courage to comment with his grandfather, but he believed it had to do with such a baby-making story.

He was a little scared and quiet for a moment until he realized that no one was paying attention to him after all, and everyone preferred to stare and whistle at the girl on the stage. He considered leaving and was already leaving the saloon when confusion erupted out front. Goku saw a broad-shouldered man and a shorter man trying to grab the stage girl.

Suddenly Krillin and Lord Roshi tried to help her, and Launch came out from behind the counter, but without her rifle and slapped one of the men's faces. The broad-shouldered man punched Mr. Roshi in the nose, who struck back with the same force, making him stunned. The other man hit Krillin, and Goku realized that this would soon become a big fight.

He liked a good fight, but not that kind. Without saying a word, he went to the front of the stage, and before the man who fought with Mr. Roshi noticed, butted him, who staggered in a daze. Goku then crept up on him and grabbed him by the pants. He walked the guy with long strides to the saloon door and threw him into the street. The guy fell unconscious.

He went the next guy, still fighting with Krillin, and, without the slightest difficulty, grabbed him by the back of his pants and went to the door of the place to throw the guy in the street. When he finally did that, the saloon was already silent, terrified by the look of fury on the usually so friendly face of the young man. He crossed his arms and said:

"I want you two out of this city now. Launch, Mr. Roshi and Krillin are good people. No one will mess with them in front of me."

The guy on the ground stared at him for a moment and looked at the other, who seemed unconscious. Goku then turned to return to the saloon when the man lying on the floor made a critical mistake. He put his hand on his waist and Launch, who had come to the door, shouted:

"Goku!"

Before the man had even aimed, the gun flew from his hand. He shouted, holding his hand in panic, noticing the bloody stump now in place of his right thumb.

Goku stared at him. He had whirled, drawn, shot, and struck the man's finger with almost unbelievable speed. The other man regained consciousness and shouted:

"Kiwi, what the hell…?

"Aaah, aaaah, my finger! My finger…"

Goku was still serious when he said:

"It would yet be there if you hadn't tried to shoot me. Now learn how to hold a revolver without it!

"Zarbon! Zarbon! "Kiwi screamed, and suddenly a tall, strong man with a handsome face, blue eyes, and long blue hair came through the back and forth door." Zarbon, see! Look what he did...

"It's your problem, Kiwi, not mine," he walked toward a large gray horse tied near the saloon and said, "I didn't send you two into trouble, idiots. Don't your chicks fit your pants?"

"The boss, Zarbon, he can't see that I lost a finger …"

"So I think another finger will have to grow there until we're with him. Come on, Dodoria! And you, idiot, bandage that damn stump.

The three man climbed on their horses, Kiwi with some difficulty, and disappeared into the darkness of the road from West Sayan to New Sadala. Goku looked at Launch, who was staring at him, still gaping and smiled:

"I don't think they will show up here so soon, Launch…"

He was going home when a chubby guy approached him and said:

"You… you are Goku, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am."

"And you know Tienshin, the Indian, don't you?"

"He's my friend," nodded Goku.

"Great!" The fat man almost shouted. I have a job offer for you!"

* * *

Later, in a large farmhouse that seemed abandoned in the distance, the trembling Kiwi gave explanations to his boss, Freeza, who listened with an air of utter boredom.

"So… Dodoria and me… We thought the girl was beautiful, and we thought we could bring her here, you know, so the boys…"

"Since when do I allow sluts here, Kiwi?" The man spoke in a bored, monotonic voice. "And how many times do I have to say that getting attention in Old Namek or West Sayan is not like making a case in New Sadala? Dodoria!" He suddenly shouted.

"Y-yes?" The other man, hitherto silent, stepped out of the shadows, where he stood beside Zarbon.

"Are you at least whole?"

"Yes, I'm… just a bump on the head and…"

"Quiet… you are not forgiven. I keep an eye on you ... Zarbon ... all you had to do was keep an eye on your boys. You had only one job and didn't do it!"

"I had gone for a beer."

"It doesn't matter anymore… keep quiet before I get annoyed, Zarbon."

The man lowered his handsome face, which was hidden by his long hair. He didn't like being warned by the boss.

"And me?" Squeaked the terrified Kiwi in the silence.

"Can you shoot with your left hand?"

"No, but I learn, sir, I learn fast and ..."

"I don't have the patience to wait… and a thumbless shooter, well, you're useless."

"Mercy, Master Freeza, mercy."

"Master Freeza…" laughed the boss, ironically, "that's funny."

He made a short gesture to a man standing with his arms crossed, leaning against the wall in one corner of the room. The man drew his two pistols and walked toward Kiwi with an evil smile on his face.

"Vegeta, please, I ..." Kiwi begged for his life, but Vegeta just laughed harder:

"I never liked you, Kiwi."

Freeza smiled silently as two simultaneous shots hit Kiwi, who fell dead. Vegeta put the pistols away and left without a word. Freeza then turned to Zarbon and Dodoria and said:

"Clean up the dirt. I don't want to smell blood in my dining room. And throw what is left to the pigs. They eat to the bone."

"Sir, I ..." said Zarbon, knowing that his team was now lacking.

"Ask one of the others to join your pack, Zarbon… the next assault on West Sayan's stagecoach will be your responsibility. Do not fail."

He went out and slammed the door, leaving both men with their dread and their macabre task.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Typical me: I had to make the joke that Krillin has no nose.
> 
> 2\. You saw Launch, now you might be asking, "when does Tienshin meet her?" It still takes a while, but he will.
> 
> 3\. Is Goku like an impossible cowboy of 50's movies? Yes, he is. If you want realistic bang-bang watch "Unforgiven," that incredible movie directed by Clint Eastwood.
> 
> 4\. Launch has no dual personality as in the drawings here, but she has a sturdy profile that stands in contrast to another, sweeter one. She has a life story that you will, however, know later. In this tale, some things are gradually revealed.
> 
> 5\. Those who remember Dragon Ball Z will recognize that there Vegeta also kills Kiwi.
> 
> 6\. What about the job offer? Do you think Goku will take it?
> 
> 7\. The quotation from this chapter is from the book "Shane," which was filmed in 1953 with Alan Ladd in the leading role. I wanted to show by this that Goku, though kind, has this crude and relentless nature, which will appear more often throughout the fic. 
> 
> 8\. A good soundtrack for this chapter is "Paint it black" from Rolling Stones in that instrumental version of the first season of "Westworld" series.  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0I3EgQ394_k


	8. Chapter 7 - Goku's new job

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goku remembers the only time he had to kill a man not to be murdered and finds a new job at the stagecoach.

_"A gun is just a tool. No better and no worse than any other tool, a shovel or an axe or a saddle or a stove or anything. Think of it always that way. A gun is as good and as bad as the man who carries it. Remember that."_

**(Jack Schaefer “Shane)**

* * *

Goku blinked his eyes repeatedly at the chubby boy before him and then asked:

“Who are you?”

“My name is Yajirobe. I am a conductor of the stagecoach that leaves every seven days here from West Sayan to New Sadala and returns here after seven days.”

“Yes, I've heard of that.” Goku knew that his parents had died in one of those steps “But what do you want with me?”

“It's not me. My boss needs someone to protect the stagecoach ... we're always being robbed by Freeza's henchmen. When it's not the Birds of Prey, it's the Ghost Knights or the Ginyu gang fanatics. All very dangerous. We need someone to make our escort.”

"And you think I can be this escort? right?"

“Certainly. Tienshin told me about you. Said you're good at shooting, I saw he's right.”

“But I'm already working for Mr. Roshi ...”

“Earning how much per week?”

“Ten dollars.”

“Ten dollars? Ten dollars to stay in that stable all day? Look, see Mr. Briefs early in the trading post tomorrow. He will pay you more than that to protect the stagecoach.”

Goku shrugged and wondered. He left for the stable and, as the night before, slept out looking at the stars. But before bed, he thought a lot. He already had over $ 10,000. Over the years, he and his grandfather had saved 3000 by selling horses, and he had managed to sell the farm for 7000. It was a small fortune, but he had come together thinking he should have money to start life in West Sayan.

The stable job was certainly not the best in the world, but it served him not to touch the money that would be used to buy or build his house. On the other hand, a better job could be perfect if he married Chichi. He wasn’t afraid of danger or of bandits: for years, he had taken his grandfather's horses to New Sadala and had often faced bandits. And he had killed once. He had no choice: either murdered or died.

* * *

_He was 15 years old and had a team of horses all alike not to New Sadala, but to the farm of an old client of his grandfather who wanted 6 light horses to drive a carriage. In the middle of the trip, he realized that he was being followed: a bandit was coming after him, first as if he was just around, then already exposing his intentions upon realizing his young age._

_Light horses were expensive and highly sought after. The bandit who had chased Goku seemed willing to do anything to have that match. He should have known he would take the horses to the Pinguin farm. Goku felt the first shot whizzing past his ear, a lock of hair tore from the bullet. He looked back. The man was slender, middle-aged, maybe 40 years old. He had a thin mustache and evil eyes when he pointed his gun at Goku again._

_Before he fired, Goku realized what he was going to do, and before the shot hit him, jumped off his horse, rolling across the floor. The bullet grazed him, and the man put the gun away. Goku thought he would go after the horses and leave him behind, but instead, the guy pulled the bridle on his mount and gave a wicked smile. Goku knew what he wanted to do. He had fallen from his horse and rolled down a ravine on the road. Blood coming out of his nose, plus a painful burning in his shoulder, where the bullet passed, and there was dust in his throat. The man didn’t want to risk being followed by the young dealer._

_The man slowly drew his weapon and came toward him. Goku's head hurt, where was his hat? The sun wouldn't let him see straight. The man laughed, believing it would be easy. He was a terrified boy, yet with guns at his waist._

_"You're a boy," said the man, pointing the gun at his face._

_The sound of a gunshot echoed through the valley. The man who aimed his gun at Goku staggered wide-eyed and took two steps forward. The gun in his right hand slid smoothly and escaped through his fingers, falling with a dry thud on the floor. He then put his hand to his chest, where a red spot was rising on his yellow shirt. He took two faltering steps, staring at the bloody hand before falling face down in the dust of the road where he died._

_Goku, fallen and wounded, had still managed to draw his weapon, aim, and fire so fast that the man could not react. But there, lying on the side of the road, he wept with remorse thinking about the life he had just taken. A time later, he got up and looked at his victim's blank face, and more tears came to his eyes. He looked at the horses, grazing, and wondered if a pair of horses was really worth a life. He sincerely didn't think so._

_He was digging a roadside grave when he heard a stumble coming down the prairie off the road. Tienshin and Bora, another Indian, arrived on their horses and surprised him. Goku stared at them, still very sad, and Tienshin said:_

_“Son of heaven mourns the death of an evil man.”_

_"I didn't mean to kill him, Tienshin."_

_“Tienshin knows. Tienshin brought Bora here because he will tell you something about this man. Right, Bora?”_

_The Indian, a huge, huge man, hitherto silent, whose attire clearly distinguished him as from another tribe, unlike Tienshin, had not taken his eyes off the face of the fallen man on the side of the road since they had appeared there..._

_“I swore to kill this man, Goku. He stole my sister from our tribe many moons before now”. The Indian had hatred in his voice. “I walked after them for many places… But after he did what he wanted with her, left her naked body thrown to the vultures.” said Bora_

_Goku stood up. He understood immediately what Bora wanted._

_"You can take him, Bora," said the boy, "And give his body the fate your tribe thinks is fairest." _

_"My sister's spirit will rest in the infinite fields of the ancestors, Goku," he said, "thanks to you."_

_The Indian dismounted and effortlessly lifted the body off the ground, placing it on his horse's flank like a dead weight. A moment before leaving, Tienshin faced Goku and said:_

_"Don't cry for his death, cry for the life he had, Goku. This man was half Indian. Betrayed blood from ancestors. Do not cry for Tao Pai Pai, son of heaven. He will never be able to walk through the endless fields of his ancestors, but he will haunt the devastated and bare lands where time is running backward.”_

_“Thank you, Tienshin.”_

Even knowing that Tao Pai Pai had been a monster in life, Goku had sworn to do his best not to make his weapon a weapon of death but of defense. And so far, he had managed to keep that oath well. He sighed before falling asleep, thinking that he should talk to Mr. Roshi first of all.

* * *

“But of course you should accept!” said Mr. Roshi when he spoke of the offer, “Goku, my son, I yesterday saw what you are capable of. You shouldn’t waste your aim and reaction speed in this way. I have Krillin, I only accepted you here because I thought you needed money.”

“But what about the church? I have to finish the church.”

"There are still five days left for the stagecoach, Goku. It's long enough for you to be able to paint the church! And first of all, rent a room in the saloon's townhouse and take your things there. Ask Lunch for the room with the safe. You told me you have savings, and I would be terrified if you left them here. And I've seen that bright sphere you carry, hide it from the sight of the curious. It looks like a gem or something of value.”

"All right, Mr. Roshi," he said, feeling glad to have the understanding of the old man who had been his boss for so short a time. "I'll talk to Mr. Briefs and then Lunch."

* * *

“One hundred dollars per trip?” Goku asked incredulously, finding it very good. "For a trip there and back?"

"Um, I know it's not much money, son," said old Briefs, "Even more so because of the risk… WelI, I'll give you a hundred and fifty. And a fifty dollar bonus per robbery avoided.”

Goku was going to open his mouth to say that he didn’t believe in his luck because he thought it was fabulous money when the old man's daughter appeared saying:

"Why, Dad, will you pay this hick if he avoids a robbery?"

“Daughter, everyone saw yesterday when he sent a man from Freeza! He shoots like no one!”

"Ah, but if the Birds of Prey or those others show up ... will he be able to avoid anything? I'm not like my mother, who loses jewelry laughing. I want to be well protected on my trip next week, see?”

The girl's way, doubting him, irritated Goku and he said:

"Mr. Briefs, even with my talent as a shooter, to take such a risk I deserve $ 200 per trip and considering the price of a trip and the charges you send and receive, I want $ 100 per assault. If the stagecoach is robbed and the men carry a pin, I promise to give up every payment.”

"Do you think defending the stagecoach is worth all this?" The girl looked very angry, but Goku kept looking at the old man, not at her.

"Ah, daughter, he’s right. We shouldn’t risk the life of this brave young man without good compensation. We usually earn almost $ 5000 each trip with transport to the bank of New Sadala !!”

“Dad! You mustn’t talk about our profits!” She said, and Goku visibly suppressed a laugh.

The girl squinted at Goku and said:

“Bloody mercenary! I hope you don't bankrupt us, you greedy brat!” She said and went to take refuge in the store.

“Forgive my little Bulma, my young ... She misses her husband very much, so her humor is terrible.”

"I see..." said Goku, thinking for the first time about how bad would be Chichi’s mood when she learned that he would be leaving soon.

Right after settling everything with Mr. Briefs, he went to the saloon. Lunch, for a change, swept the room vigorously with a grumpy face.

“Hi, Lunch!” He said excitedly. “I want to rent a room here that has a vault!”

She looked at him, intrigued, and said:

"You're full of surprises, brat. What do you want a vault for?”

"If I want to keep something in a vault, it's because of it is valuable."

“Okay. It's seven dollars a week, meals apart.”

“Wow, how expensive!”

“You asked for a room with a vaut. Without it, you would pay five. If you want you can stay at the old Tsuru's inn, but don't complain about the fleas.”

“I'll stay right here. I'll get my things, " Goku said and walked out the swinging door, a little anxious to start his new life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. I know it's a short chapter, the next one too. But from 9, only chapters longer than 2000 characters.  
2\. Keep this term: Infinite Ancestor Fields.  
3\. Had Tienshin and had the Lunch. But there is no interaction between them yet. Do you think there will be?  
4\. Bulma is still in a bad mood, I know. But she will travel to New Sadala and there ...  
5\. Next chapter: To make Chichi smile.  
6\. Another quote from "Shane." It is about the difference between the one who uses the weapon for defense and for death.


	9. Chapter 8 - To make Chichi smile

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Goku finds a way to make Chichi smile at him.

_"Sometimes, when she was alone, and she knew she was alone, she permitted her mind to play in a garden, and she smiled."_

**(John Steinbeck, East of Eden)**

* * *

Goku took all his possessions to the room he had rented on the second floor of the saloon. He kept the money, the ball, and the map in the small vault and went towards the pastor's house to get the paints and get on with his work of painting the church.

After half an hour, Chichi appeared with a bottle of milk and stood there waiting for him to say something.

"Will you throw milk at me again?" he asked, looking at her, suspicious. She lowered her eyes, embarrassed, and said:

"I'm sorry. I thought you said nobody would want to marry me."

"That's all right. I guess I was alone for too long, and then when I talk, people don't always understand me." He said, more like a reflection than an answer to her, " I know a lot of guys should want to marry you."

"Aren't you going to drink the milk?" she offered the bottle, and he took it. He stopped for a moment to look Chichi, which avoided his gaze. He liked it when she did little things to disguise her shyness. At that moment, she twisted the tip of her apron distractedly, as she looked at a tiny butterfly resting on a dandelion flower that sprouts in a bush on the side of the church. He drank all the milk, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, as usual. Suddenly she spoke, still looking at the butterfly:

"Is it true you kicked out some guys from the saloon yesterday? I heard they were from Freeza's gang and you beat them up, and when one of them tried to shoot, you shot his hand, and he lost a finger.

" Ah... yes, it is true."

" Do you went to the saloon for the new girl, the one from New Sadala? " she asked cautiously, sneering at him.

He almost thought it was funny, after all, only at the insistence of others had he gone to the saloon. Then he said:

"Krillin and Mr. Roshi insisted that I go there. " He laughed " they were crazy to see the girl. I went and tried to have a beer, I'd never tried it before, but I didn't like it, I think I prefer milk. So I talked a bit to Launch, the saloon owner, and I was just leaving when the mess started. Well, she was pretty... " this time he's the one who sneered at her and said, "but you're more. A lot more, actually."

Chichi blinked her eyes and blushed intensely. He smiled at her, hoping it would make her smile, but she was mute for a while, so he went on:

"Because of what I did, the way I reacted... well, Mr. Briefs needs someone to escort the stagecoaches to New Sadala, and I've just been hired. In five days, I'm going there with my horse."

The color ran from the face of Chichi, who said:

"You're leaving for New Sadala?"

"No. I'm just going to accompany the coach, and I'll come back next week with the next one. It's a good job, the money is enough to live well."

"Goku.. " she twisted her apron nervously," but that must be very dangerous... the bandits, they..."

"I'm not afraid, Chichi. " He smiled "I never been afraid."

"What if you get shot, Goku, what if you die?" Her face was distressed. He smiled at her and said softly.

"I have faced bandits before, Chichi... you don't know this, but they never managed to hurt me. You can rest easy." He said and looked at her, with those big innocent eyes, as if he wasn't terrified at all.

She took the bottle and ran to hide in her room. Chichi couldn't understand Goku. He always talked to her smiling, he was still carefree, but she had heard a man tell her father that the guy seemed furious with men the day before, that he had moved like a beast and shot like a demon. She laid on her bed, looking up at the ceiling, and remembered him saying that she was prettier than the new girl in the saloon. Then, finally, she allowed herself to smile in spite of everything that afflicted her.

Goku kept painting the side of the church with the same concern as the day before: Chichi had not once smiled at him. Not once. Was she the right girl for him? She thought about her grandfather, her promise to him, and wondered if her grandfather would like Chichi. He was sure he would. Chichi seemed to be a woman who could work tirelessly like Grandpa said that was his wife; she was kind, generous. And that's why she didn't laugh? Goku kept thinking about her afflicted little gestures and the concern she had shown for him and felt her heart warmed. It would be worth facing the road between West Sayan and New Sadala every week if she was waiting for him every time he returned.

* * *

The days passed very quickly, always with quick conversations between Chichi and Goku, who felt increasingly distressed by the girl's introverted way and the shadow of sadness that seemed to hover over her. As he was no longer in the stable, he started working all day to finish quickly, and in the end, he ended up painting not only the walls but also the doors and the church fence. On the last day of his work, when he was already painting the final part of the fence, and she came to bring him water, in the late afternoon, he finally took courage and asked her:

"Chichi, why do you never smile or laugh? All I wanted was to see a smile from you."

She stared at him, perplexed. Wasn't she smiling? Why not smile, anyway? Chichi realized she was really not smiling much those days. She sighed and said:

"You know, Goku ... when my mother died, I was eleven years old. I wanted to be a teacher, I really liked to study. But without my mother around here, someone had to take care of the cows with my father, so I stopped studying and started to help him. He takes care of the church, he receives the donations, but it is the milk that sustains us here, the offerings of the faithful are for charity, not for us. My father wakes up every day very early and milks our little cows, which were four in the old days, but there are only two left. I help him by boiling the milk enough so that no one gets sick and filling the bottles, and I also make cheese and butter for us to sell.

"But we don't have the money to buy at least one more cow, and the ones we have are starting to get old. If one more cow dies, I don't know what it'll be like. So my concern is how we'll survive if they keep giving less and less milk. It gets harder and harder to get the 200 bucks to buy a quality heifer."

"Two hundred dollars?" he asked, looking at it.

"Yes," she sighed, twisting her apron.

"Wait here, Chichi," he said, handing the brush to her. Then he ran into the saloon and climbed the steps like a rocket, ignoring Launch's protests that swept the ladder. He opened his vault and picked up five $100 bills in a hurry, closing it as fast as he could.

He ran down and found Chichi exactly where he had left her, still with the same intrigued look, so he handed her the money and said:

"There's the money to buy the two little cows... and another hundred dollars as an offering for the church, after all, I haven't been there for about ten years at all, It's all the little coins I stopped giving in all those years!" he laughed.

Chichi looked at the money stunned, then looked at him and said:

"Goku, I can not accept!"

" Yes, you can, and you will. And you're going to buy the two most beautiful, milky cows on the farm in old Uranai, which I know is the one with the best cattle in the region."

Chichi was so touched by that gesture that she couldn't hold back her tears, crying convulsively with emotion and joy. Goku's smile disappeared, and he said:

"I did it to make you smile again, not to make you cry, Chichi!"

Then it happened. Chichi gazed at him and started to laugh in the middle of her crying. Goku's heart shot into his chest, and he knew: that was the right girl for him. She had always been. Without thinking about what anyone would say if he saw that, he took two steps and hugged her, and she hid the sobs in his chest while she calmed down. He felt a chill because of her breathing on his naked chest, and then he walked away softly, still smiling.

The two of them stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. Goku felt like kissing her, but he just didn't know how and thought it was inappropriate, not there in the square, not during the day... not with him shirtless. She, in turn, after the initial shock, didn't know what else to say, she just wanted to look at him, that adorable face, that innocent smile she loved. Suddenly, she said:

"I'm gonna take the money to my dad... he's gonna like the news."

"It's my wedding present to you. " Goku said, then he knelt down and asked, "will you marry me, Chichi?"

She waved her eyes and smiled again. Then she said:

"It's not for me, you should ask, but for my father!"

"Ah, it's true... how can I? When?" he said, clumsily, getting up and scratching his head.

"Come and have dinner with us tonight, Goku... I'll do something very nice for you!" she said, and blushed again, walking towards the house with steps so light that it seemed to float. She turned suddenly and said-but if you must know, Goku... I doubt my father will say no.

Goku smiled. He had begun to love that girl, he knew it.

* * *

He showed up at 7 pm at the door of the pastor's house, who wanted to pay for his painting services, but he refused, explaining that now he would have a great job and could donate his work to the church. Chichi gave him such a radiant smile that his heart raced to his chest.

Chichi's food was undoubtedly the best he'd ever eaten in his life, and he said that to her all the time. At the end of dinner, after dessert, he finally looked at her father and said:

"Pastor, as you may remember, Chichi and I met many years ago... and I promised her as a child that she would be my wife.

"Yes, my son," the man's colossal face held a happy smile from ear to ear.

"And I returned to West Sayan to fulfill my promise. As soon as I return from New Sadala, I intend to get a home for us right here. And I would like to have your blessing.

"Of course, you have my blessing. Chichi has been waiting for this since she was eleven!

"Daddy!" said Chichi, very red.

When he said goodbye, Chichi took him to the door, a little embarrassed that her father was still in the room and said:

"I'll count the days until you come back.

"And I'll buy you a very nice ring, Chichi, I promise."

He turned his back and walked around with his hands in his pockets. Chichi looked back, and seeing that her father was a little distracted, she ran to Goku, touching him lightly on the shoulder. When he turned around, she kissed him on the cheek, full of shame. He rubbed where she had kissed and smiled, saying:

"I'll be back soon, I promise."

She smiled and ran into the house. Goku saw her closing the door and wondered what it would be like to kiss her on the mouth. He would have to find out on the way back if he dared to do it.

It was still dark the next day when the stagecoach set out for the city of New Sadala. Goku looked at West Sayan once more and put his hat on his head, looking in the direction of the house of Chichi. He could not even imagine that at that moment, she was looking through the kneecap of the window. When he started riding next to the carriage, she nervously squeezed the bar of his white nightgown and murmured:

"Come back soon, my Goku. I will miss you..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. This chapter seemed like an Indian movie, very romantic but no kiss on the mouth. Give the proper discount to these young people... they had a conservative education and have no experience.
> 
> 2\. The next chapter and the next one will be led by the widowed lady Bulma Briefs... and she will find a confident guy who only dresses in black.
> 
> 3\. Are we going to leave West Sayan for a while? The next chapter is called "Traveling to New Sadala."
> 
> 4\. The quotation that opens this chapter is one that I like very much and talks about the romantic fantasy of a girl, from the book "East of Eden."


	10. Chapter 9 - Traveling to New Sadala

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When the stagecoach travels to New Sadala, and Bulma meets for the first time a mysterious guy at the restaurant of the hotel.

> _“God help the man who ever really loves you. You'd break his heart, my darling, cruel, destructive little cat who is so careless and confident she doesn't even trouble to sheathe her claws.”_
> 
> **(Margareth Mitchell, “Gone with the wind”)**

The word most associated with the young widow Bulma Briefs was certainly "rude," although the people of West Sayan never told it in front of her. The young woman was irritable, full of personality, and certainly had the worst temper in that town, even more so than that of the Saloon owner. Fortunately, unlike Lunch, Bulma was unbelievably incompetent with a gun in her hand, so she never carried one.

Long before dawn, she was ready to board the stage that would take her to New Sadala, and she seemed extremely pleased and happy to get out of the tedious atmosphere of that city. She looked in front of the mirror before putting on her black hat. Black clothes annoyed her, meaning she was in mourning for her husband with whom she hadn’t spent two years married. It was a little over a month before she had received the news of his death, but it seemed that she had worn black clothes for an entire era. She couldn't wait to get rid of her grief.

Thinking for a moment, she could barely remember her husband's face. She had been quite upset when his friend, a short foreigner named Pual, had persuaded him to go south to try his luck at the South Namek gold mine. Six months later, a letter arrived, reporting his death in an outbreak of typhoid fever.

"Fucking asshole. He didn't even get rich!" she thought, fixing her hat on the blue hair.

Bulma looked at her reflection for a moment and then moved her hat, putting it on the side of her head, in a daring attitude for a widow. Only the young single women wore the hat in that asymmetrical pose. But she didn't have a husband anymore, right? What was wrong with playing some charm?

She left and went to the square, where the coach was waiting for her. She could see Yajirobe's silhouette on top of the hitchhiking, headed for sleep. Next to the stage, the annoying golden mare which almost has been hers was standing. The horse stood like a docile pony, while her owner caressed her. Bulma thought they were paying too much for that guy's services, even though he had good aim. But she expected him to be efficient in case a robbery occurred.

“Good morning!” said the boy, excited.

“Good morning...” she yawned and waited for him to open the door of the carriage, in vain, “Don't you have any manners?”

“I said good morning, didn't I?” he asked.

She snorted and opened the door herself, saying:

“There are no other passengers, only I'm going to New Sadala. And I want to get there on a good schedule, Yajirobe.”

She walked in without saying anything else. Goku rode his mare and said, close to the animal's ear, gently:

“Come on, my Golden Nimbus, let's fly!”

West Sayan was on a plain, squeezed between two vast mountain ranges: Frypan at south and Paozu in the North. To the east was the limit of the Namek Plateau, which led to the broad desert, and to the west Mount Sayan. The plain was surrounded by a green meadow, thanks to the diversion of water from Sayan Dam. The dam was built years before the hill of the same name. It rained a lot in the region only at the end of summer, so the diversion of the freshwater that accumulated in the mountain was so important to keep alive the small and isolated town that was born from copper exploitation in an old mine, abandoned a few years before. 

The road to New Sadala began with a climb up the vast Namek Plateau which, near West Sayan, was semi-arid, then followed the Sayan Hill where it turned at the Curve of Three Crosses, and climbed the green hills of Mount Paozu near Tullace, followed to Vegetown in the North. Then, it crossed a canyon to leave the mountain range, going down the valley of the Oozaru River, which filled the landscape with green, as the road accompanied it to the busy city of Nova Sadala, passing instead by Oozaru and Fierce’s Landing, at the meeting between the rivers Sadala and Oozaru. It was a trip that could last from ten to twelve hours, depending on the stops that were made.

Usually, the stagecoach would stop at the small town of Tullace and then at Vegetown, two cities about the size of West Sayan that were on the way, where the horses could rest for half an hour and the travelers could stretch their legs and have a meal.

But Goku convinced Yajirobe to stop elsewhere because he had a severe suspicion: Freeza must have had spies at the stagecoach stops, or he would not know so well where he could rob it. Proof of this, for Goku, was in the fact that it was usually the stage that returned from New Sadala that was robbed. The one that went there rarely was disturbed, although robberies had already occurred on both routes.

And, strangely enough, it never happened when the stage had, visibly, only passengers and no large consignment, as was the case that day.

They had been on the road for almost four hours when they stopped. Bulma, who was asleep sprawled out on the seat of the couch, woke up with Goku's loud knock at the cabin door.

“Let's stop, Mrs. Briefs!” he said, when she put her sleepy head out.

“What is this place?” she asked. “It doesn't look like Tullace.”

“Because it is Penguin Village!" said Goku, happy.

“What? You diverted 39 miles from the route to pass here? What do you want, Yajirobe?” she said, looking at the driver, she shrunk on top of the ride.

“It wasn't him; it was me," said Goku, “I think we should change the route of the coach. I used to make this route to Nova Sadala a lot with my horses. When we leave here, instead of passing through the canyon, which can leave us vulnerable, since there may be someone watching us up there to take the exit of the mountains. We can take this road that is not very well known and leave 52 miles in advance, already bordering the Sadala River. Then we stopped at Fierce’s Landing, and from there, we arrived in less than two hours to Nova Sadala. We will save a few hours and take a route that the Freeza gang cannot foresee.”

“But if we don't make it through the canyon... you'll take us inside the Indian lands, you madman. That's irresponsible!”

Goku had a laugh. It annoyed Bulma even more. She said:

“I don’t want to die scalped!”

“You are very prejudiced, Mrs. Briefs. I know all the natives of those lands, I always pass there as a friend. I know Bora, chief of the Bora and Tenshin, son of Chief Han. The tribes accept me, and if I pass with the stagecoach there always, we'll never be bothered. The good part is the Freeza gang don't pass through their land.”

She snitched and said:

“My father was mad when he trusted on you...”

He turned his back on her and walked towards a small restaurant. Without much choice, Bulma followed him. They sat down, and he ordered a huge meal for him and asked her and Yajirobe:

“What will you have?”

While they were eating, Bulma explained to him that he was going to New Sadala to trade the hides he had sold to her father, who had gone to their warehouse days before disguised as a hay cart. This is how her father sent things of value to New Sadala. Goku was surprised by the strategy, really, hay wagons went and came back and forth, and no one pestered them.

Soon after the meal and the use of the bathroom, after all, it would take many hours until the next stop, Goku saw a twelve-year-old girl with violet hair, who wore glasses and called her:

“Arale!”

“Goku!” The girl came running to him and hugged him. He asked:

“How are your horses? All good?”

“Ah, Magic seems to have stepped on a rock badly but is recovering. What are you doing here?”

“I'm a stagecoach guard now. I talked to Mr. Briefs, and he authorized me to change the route, now the stagecoach's gonna come through here every time.”

“Gee, that's nice. Can you take something for my cousin Suno, since you're going to New Sadala?”

“Sure! And I have other news to tell you. I'm getting married in West Sayan.”

“Really, Goku?” The girl rolled her big eyes behind her glasses and said: “oh dear, Suno won't like that...”

“What?” he asked, not understanding what she had said.

“Nothing, no, never mind, I'll get the package I have for you to take to her.”

Soon they were back on the road, Bulma was looking at that landscape she didn't know, she had never passed through the lands where the natives used to live, and then she started thinking that it might have been good to hire Goku as a guard. It would be good to stop in Fierce's Landing, she might know news about the railway they were building. In a few years, there would be no more stagecoaches if the train arrived in West Sayan. She was thinking about it when she fell asleep.

The stop in Fierce’s Landing occurred without further news, except that she was more tired and more painful. Goku, despite the hours and hours on the saddle of the mare, did not seem at all tired. And he devoured another of those giant meals.

“So what my father pays you will yield nothing!” she said, looking at the giant fish fry platter with fries equally he ate.

“I have to enjoy it when I come here to eat fish”! he said, cutting the steaming fish “Only here and in New Sadala can you eat something that is not dried meat, beans with sausage or oat soup!”

Suddenly she remembered something and decided to bring it up:

“Goku... when you came to my shop I saw that you have an interesting ball, with some stars drawn on it... wouldn't you like to sell it to me?”

“No!” he said with his mouth full, his expression changing to a suspicious look.

“But why not? I can pay you a good amount of money!”

“It's not for sale. My father left it to me, and my grandfather gave it to me. I have no interest in selling.”

“Do you even know what it's for?”

“I know it is a souvenir of the father, which was saved to me by my dear grandfather. I'm not selling it to you for any money, Miss Bulma.”

The girl snitched, but she left it there. It was interesting to discover that he knew nothing of the legend of the spheres, which she knew. Maybe if she found some way to see the map showing where the other balls were, he'd agree to go after them on an adventure. But it would be better to probe him on another occasion.

* * *

It was a few hours before nightfall when they arrived in New Sadala. Yajirobe stopped the stage in front of a reasonable hotel, and Bulma came down. Goku hit the tip of his hat in greeting and said:

“See you in seven days?”

“Where will you stay? Aren't you going to our warehouse like Yajirobe?”

“No, I have friends here in New Sadala. But I will sleep there in the warehouse on the last day, so I will not be late when we have to leave. Do you need anything else?”

“That you stop calling me the lady and Mrs. Briefs or Miss Bulma. It's just Bulma. I'm 23, not 50.”

“Okay, then, just Bulma.” He put his hat on his head and turned his horseback to the broad avenue that followed to a residential neighborhood, and she watched the boy walk away and thought, "Till he's not bad and he's good-looking... too bad he's committed."

Bulma entered the hotel and asked for a standard room, which was neither too luxurious nor too cheap. She had business to do in town, but that night at least she wanted a bath in a hot tub, a cozy bed, and perfect sleep. And before all that, she wanted to have dinner at the hotel's luxurious restaurant, even if she was alone. She went up to her room, refreshed herself, and, at dinner time, perfumed herself capriciously and came down.

She even wondered if she didn't know any inspiring guys there. She was aware of his youth, beauty, and charisma, and after he had discovered the grace of sex, she kept fantasizing if there wouldn't appear some prince charming in her life who wouldn't leave behind gold or riches or die stupidly, leaving her full of needs to fill.

She loved music and dancing, but the most she could do was see the hotel pianist playing during dinner. That was the role of a young widow. She gave the boy a coin to get a place in a friendly, airy area of the hall, left her hat on, and went to her table in the restaurant.

The restaurant hall was beautiful, with a gaslighting and luxurious decoration. Bulma sat alone at a small round table in the corner and ordered a glass of water and the menu. She sighed with contentment: there was no gossip to regulate her behavior. A pianist played a song softly in the corner of the hall. She preferred it to be a more cheerful and agitated melody, but it was suitable for those who had no music in her life. Her right foot beat the ground rhythmically, accompanying the music.

Her eyes wandered around the hall, which wasn’t yet very full. Suddenly, her gaze found a young man, also alone, all dressed in black, like her. He wasn’t sitting in the restaurant, but standing in the hotel bar, leaning sideways on the counter. He had a glass of Bourbon between his right-hand fingers, but he didn't drink, he just held the glass almost nonchalantly while staring at her, a slightly debauched half-smile on his lips. Suddenly he took the glass to his mouth and drank without taking his eyes off hers, licking his lips with satisfaction at the end. He hit the glass on the counter and made a gesture to the bartender, asking for another dose. After this, without saying anything, he returned to his initial position, still staring at her.

Bulma lowered her eyes for an instant, blushing with shame, but at the same time, with her heart strangely racing. It was the first time since she had dressed in mourning that a man had looked at her. In fact, it was the first time in her life that a man looked at her that way. If she were a regular widow, one who respects her grief and resorts to seclusion, she would change tables or leave the restaurant, feeling offended. But she was Bulma Briefs. Trapped in that forced two-year mourning for a husband she barely knew.

Without any ceremony, she lifted her chin and stared at the boy wearing black, returning his daring expression with a defiant look and a malicious smile. For an instant, she realized his perplexity, which clearly didn’t expect that reaction, and wondered if she wasn’t too bold. But he soon recovered his pose, raised his glass, toasted her quietly, drank his whiskey, and called the bartender, leaving the money for him and leaving shortly after.

Bulma followed him with his gaze as he left the restaurant and disappeared. She was a bit puzzled by his attitude, thinking that she had ruined everything. She looked at the menu again and was surprised when the waiter arrived with the cup of water she had ordered, and, as she deposited it in front of her, she noticed that there was also a note left capriciously folded under the cup.

"Nice lady, business calls at the moment. Would I have your company for breakfast? If so, fold that note into three and return it to the waiter."

Bulma looked astonished at the note, not knowing exactly what to do. She ordered her meal and couldn’t taste it, only thinking of the letter in front of her. Then, still hesitant, right after dessert, she ordered another glass of water, and when the waiter came to deliver, she returned the note, folded in three. To hell with that grieving story.

Later, Vegeta was walking back into the hotel, trying to hide his left hand discreetly. When he took the key from the reception, he received back the note she had sent to the widow and gave a cynical smile. He would have a pleasant company for breakfast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. The geography of this fanfic is somewhat based on that of Dragon Ball, so no real place is cited. City names are based on Sayan names, less "Fierce's Landing" because I wanted at least one name to remember Game of Thrones. Fierce, in this case, alluding to Oozaru.   
2\. We can understand Bulma's lousy mood now, right? I must explain that, for those who haven't noticed, this "incarnation" of Bulma is a little inspired by the willful protagonist of "And the wind took...", Scarlett O'Hara. Since Scarlett is a widow in a warm marriage, who finds a guy who... you'll have to wait for the next chapter, I'm sorry.   
3\. The scene in which Vegeta faces her is clearly inspired by the first scene that Scarlett and Rhett find themselves in.  
4\. What was Vegeta doing there, and why is he hiding his left hand? That's one more question that will await the next chapter.   
5\. The quote, of course, is "And the wind took..." the book by Margareth Mitchell that inspired one of the greatest films of the 20th century.   
6\. The next chapter is called... "The Prince"


	11. Chapter 10 - The Prince

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vegeta and Bulma met at New Sadala

> _“Sir,” she said, “you are no gentleman!”_
> 
> _“An apt observation,” he answered airily. “And, you, Miss, are no lady.”_
> 
> _“Until you've lost your reputation, you never realize what a burden it was or what freedom really is.”_
> 
> ** _(Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind)_ **

Until the age of 9, he had the best education. Maybe that's why he was so different from the rest of the gang. His grandfather, after all, had founded a town and became very rich. His father had been a wealthy man, but with an irresistible tendency for incredibly sneaky ways to make money, including being part of a criminal pack that ended up murdering him. And the last memory Prince Vegeta had of his father was him naked in a bed, his eyes glazed, and his mouth opened, poisoned by one of the many prostitutes the father kept around after his mother died in his brother childbirth.

Nappa had unconventionally completed his 'education.' He had noticed the cold ferocity in the boy. He had encouraged him to cultivate it like a plant, letting it take root in the boy's soul, who had joined the gang at the age of 13 and had killed the first man at the age of 14, another fellow of the band, older, who wanted to steal from him the silver guns he had inherited from his father. Beside Raditz, he had become one of Nappa's birds of prey, cold, cruel, and perfect as the thief and murderer that he was.

In contrast to his gangmate Raditz, who was crude, explosive, and without manners, a real ogre, Vegeta was cold and calm and knew how to pass for refined and cultured. When they needed to "settle a matter" in New Sadala, instead of landing in a guesthouse in the brothel area, where Nappa and Raditz spent the days and nights, he chose an elegant and chic hotel and then a prey.

Vegeta hated paid sex and promised himself he would never lie down with the kind of woman who offered his father a glass of poisoned bourbon. Instead, he sought out fine, chic, needy women and worshipped them until they went to bed with him. Then he would steal them and leave, without the slightest remorse for the crime, worthy of a rat. But he didn't see himself as a rat. He was the hawk, the most efficient thief in Freeza's gang. He had been stealing for fourteen years and, like Raditz, had never been identified, and none of the ladies he had taken had ever reported him. Not least because ladies had a reputation to watch over, which would be ruined by lying down with a common thief. Anyway, he considered himself a fortunate guy, besides a thieving scammer.

The day before the stage arrived, he, Nappa, and Raditz came in New Sadala with a mission: to hunt down three dissidents from the gang who had disrespected Freeza's primary rule: once in the band, never again outside. Gurdo, Boter, and Rikkun had previously been part of Ginyu's small clan. Because of differences in sharing, they had fled one night from the gang's hiding place three months earlier and really believed they would be safe in New Sadala.

They did not imagine that Freeza had informants there and that they would be caught in the next days. Vegeta, Nappa, and Raditz could pad in New Sadala and kill the trio, once the 'birds of prey' were never seen unmasked.

The first night, when he said he would stay at the Grand Hotel Sadala, Raditz mocked him:

"There goes the Prince, after his helpless little sheep... is it worth twenty dollars a night to steal earrings and rings from the poor ladies, Vegeta?"

"As much as it must be worth buying the same earrings and rings for a luxury snake dancing whore..."

"Don't talk about her like that!"

Nappa, as always, placed himself between the two to avoid disaster. Vegeta loved to offend the dancer Raditz had as a protector in New Sadala, and he loved to mock Vegeta's habit of stealing rich women.

"Get out of here, Vegeta. Meet us tomorrow at eight sharp in front of Moe's bar to go after Gurdo. Until then, don't do anything foolish."

Vegeta was going to say it was Raditz, not him, who was prone to drink too much, to bullshit, and to talk too much, but preferred to leave it.

He was soon entering the hotel and asked one of his contacts if there were any potential prey. He took advantage of the hatred that many humiliated employees had of rich people to get information about rich and lonely women (often much older than him), but that day none were staying.

"But tomorrow night, a young widow is due to arrive, "said the servant of the suitcases "she made a reservation for a standard room, but we know she could pay for a first class room.

He was delighted... widowed and young. They were the perfect, coy, fearful prey, opening to him like flowers, which he showed no mercy at all. That night he lay down in bed thinking how easy it would be to deceive a young, naive widow unaware where he was about to get himself.

* * *

When he first saw Bulma, he felt fortunate. The girl looked like an angel with those blue hair and eyes, she must have been shy and fearful like a caged canary. He watched her peeping at the room with those huge blue eyes alive and interested until she saw him.

Vegeta knew how to undress a woman with his eyes, and she realized that immediately. 'Now, she lowers her head, avoids my eyes, runs away from me...' That's what they all used to do. Slowly he drank his bourbon and waited for the reaction, which was the opposite of what he expected. She stared at him, challenging, and not only that, but smiled.

He opened his lips in an expression of almost surprise. For an instant, an internal voice warned him that such a daring woman could be dangerous, but he ignored his intuition and asked for a second bourbon, which he smiled thinking about how to seduce her.

Returning to her boldness, he toasted her, paid for the drinks and left, because it was already almost eight hours. On the way out, he asked one of his accomplices for a pen, and with his rich man's handwriting, he wrote a daring note inviting her for breakfast.

When he punched Gurdo's face so hard that he hurt his hand on one of the bandit's teeth, he had the rich widow's look in mind. She was beautiful, probably the most beautiful woman he had ever tried to seduce. Maybe that's why his torture with Gurdo lasted so little. Less than a minute after punching him until he saw his face bleeding, he drew his revolver and finished it, to the surprise of Nappa and Raditz, who were used to his almost sadistic tortures. Without saying anything to both of them, he dropped the other's body on the ground. He returned to the hotel, feeling the loose gallop of his black steed, which he delivered to the stable, entering the hall quickly, wondering if the woman was still in the restaurant.

She wasn't. But Vegeta got back the note he'd sent her folded in three, and he smiled.

The next day, he found her in the restaurant hall at breakfast. The black of the dress highlighted the pallor of the skin and the blue of the young woman's eyes and bright hair. He only saw her from afar, but he had to admit that she was breathtaking up close. Before her, he bowed respectfully and smiled. "Good morning... I see you accepted my bold invitation, lady...?"

"Briefs, Bulma Briefs." she said, serious and asked: "And you are?"

"Prince. Prince Rogers Nelson. But you can call me Prince."

"Ah... a prince?"

"It is just a name, not a title. My father used to be very pretentious and gave me this stupid name", he said, pulling the chair so she could sit down. "But, allowing me the audacity, Mrs. Briefs, it is you, despite your mourning, who has the beauty of a princess. By the way, I feel sorry for your loss."

"Oh, don't feel it. Now I think my deceased husband was a scumbag, and I should never have gotten married," she said, and he had a laugh. "I'm dying to take that grief off."

He sat before her, surprised by the fact that she faced him. Women never did it; they were educated to avoid men's gaze. What woman was that, anyway?

"So... what brought you to New Sadala, Mr. Prince?"

"Ah, business, business, nothing that interests a lady, madam."

"You're wrong. I'm interested in business, and that's precisely why I'm here. I work for my father, who's really a fool when it comes to losing money..."

He felt disconcerted because that woman took an interest in matters, they usually avoided, like business and money. He needed to come up with something convincing.

"Well, it's embarrassing and exasperating," he said, "but I've come to collect some debts here. I'm established in Vegetown, but I have some creditors who sadly insist on ignoring their obligations and force us to speak some painful truths personally.

"Really? I thought that could be solved by sending armed goons. Nobody's fool to do something like that with me because they know that's what I would do, you know?"

He was impressed again with that boldness. The woman didn't seem to know how to hold her tongue. He wondered if she would be like that in bed too. They ordered the coffee, and he discovered that she had come from West Sayan on the coach, and he also discovered that the coach now had a guard, and he had suggested a bold change, of course, passing through Indian territory.

"You know, he says he's a friend of the natives, but I personally think he's kind of wild himself. Can you believe he pulled the finger off a guy they say is from Freeza's gang with one shot?"

Vegeta recognized the story and wanted to know more about the guard, but she didn't know much about him, only that he had been raised on a farm. Suddenly she asked:

"Can you tell me the time?"

Vegeta knew that this was a sign to test whether or not the person was wealthy. A poor man would look at the time in the parlor's carillon clock, but he pulled out an elegant silver watch (stolen from another widow) and said:

"It's five minutes to nine o'clock."

"Oh, dear, I'm terribly late, Mr. Prince! I had to be at my father's warehouse before 8:30AM!"

"I'll get a rental couch for the lady." he said gently, "and then I leave for my private business."

She gave him a malicious smile and said:

"Say what you want... but I'd swear you'd punch your creditors, Mr. Prince. You don't look like a patient man."

He paid the expensive bill for the coffee and held out his hand to her, saying:

"You don't know how wrong you are about me, Mrs. Briefs!"

Vegeta put her in a rental car and watched as she walked away. He couldn't say he wasn't charmed by all that boldness. So, he left, in the opposite direction. He needed to buy some ammunition for his next 'creditor' conversation.

He spent the day thinking about how he would meet her again. Distracted by her conversation, he had forgotten to plant the seed for a second meeting, which could be more productive and lead to an invitation to her room.

* * *

At dusk, he found that she had not yet returned, but it was time to go after Rikkun. He had scored with Nappa and Raditz in front of a bar near the port of Sadala River. The informant had warned that Rikkun had bought that bar as a disguise to sell smuggled whiskey. It was a crime, but all the bars at the port did it. When Vegeta saw Raditz, he said:

"He's yours. I'm not in the mood to get my hands dirty today."

"Ok, it is my pleasure," Raditz gave his most sadistic and ferocious smile and opened the shuttle door of the bar like a hurricane. He shot upwards, frightening the parish, and went to the back of the bar, where he pulled out the terrified and trembling Rikkun, who said:

"I can pay Freeza a fee... just leave me here, in peace, Raditz. He can send $200 a week, that's almost half of what I make... just don't kill me."

Vegeta and Nappa held the former colleague with their hands tied behind their backs while Raditz smiled and took one of the lids off a large vat, filled to the brim with the worst quality smuggled whiskey. He tasted a little and said:

"Besides everything, Rikkun, your whiskey tastes like someone pee." he went up on the counter and said to both, "let's make our friend taste some of the lousy whiskey he serves his customers..."

Vegeta and Nappa turned Rikkun upside down, and Raditz held him by the legs, ignoring his cries of protest when he was plunged upside down into the vat. Raditz laughed lifting and lowering him into the tank, leaving him longer and longer inside the liquid as his protests grew weaker. Anyway, when he stopped moving ultimately, he said:

"Besides, he really pissed himself inside the vat. The whiskey was wasted enough, and he still messed it up more..." said Raditz, dropping Rikkun's lifeless body into the vat with his legs out.

Vegeta couldn't help but think of Bulma, wondering what she'd say about that method of 'collecting debts.'

The next day was Saturday. They couldn't get Boter that day. There was a party in town, it was too risky to try anything with so much movement in New Sadala. Vegeta woke up, hoping to see Bulma, and she was actually in the lounge, having breakfast alone. She waved at him when she noticed him, and he cursed himself a little for feeling that strange palpitation when he saw her. He shouldn't get involved with her. She was prey, no matter how daring, funny, and different she was.

"So, did you leave any nosebleeds yesterday, Mr. Prince?"

"What?" he asked, scared.

"I want to know if you received from your creditor..."

"Ah, of course," he pretended to laugh "part of it, but it's something amazingly boring. And you, any news in business?"

"Ah, I sold a shipment of furs very well," she bragged "I must return with great news for my father. But not with the money, which I will leave invested here in the bank of New Sadala. I can't wait for the train to arrive in West Sayan. I have been informing myself in Fierce's Landing, next month, they will start to dynamite to make a tunnel in the lower part between Mount Sayan and Paozu; in five years, maximum we will have a station in New Sadala. I love progress, don't you?"

"Who doesn't?" he said, thinking about how much that information was worth.

"Do you have the day off?"

"Yes, I do. I have no plans, actually."

"Ah, would you mind walking me to my sister's house? She and my brother-in-law are incredibly dull, and I should have lunch with them... I'd love your company. Then we could go for a walk downtown... Nothing too daring, you know, adequate for a grieving woman."

"Nothing too bold, Miss Briefs, I promise." 'Nothing more daring than me in your bed,' he thought, smiling.

* * *

Before noon, he picked her up in the hotel lobby, and they both boarded a rental car that took them to a residential neighborhood almost in the suburb of New Sadala. The house was reasonable, suggesting high purchasing power. It was when they entered the house that Vegeta thought it might not have been a good idea to go there.

He had never been seen with any of her previous "victims" except in the hotel itself. Bulma's sister was beautiful but not as attractive as she was, with platinum blond hair arranged in elegant curls. She received them in the large room of her house, wore a pink dress, and seemed authentically happy to see her sister:

"Little sister! How are you? Haven't you taken that mourning yet?"

"It is killing me! One month to go, I can't take it anymore... Oh, Tights, this is Mr. Prince, he's been kind enough to join me."

"Nice to meet you, ma'am."

"Very pleased to meet one of my sister's friends. She gets buried in that dull town... are you from here?"

"No, from Vegetown."

"Ah, how interesting. My husband was born in Vegetown... but he left there many years ago as a boy... Jaco, come here."

An alarm bell rang in Vegeta's mind. He could have been terribly in trouble if the subject had known him as a child and remembered him. The man came from inside the house and, to Vegeta's relief, was nobody he knew. He was thin and pale, looked a bit dull, and faced Vegeta with indifference when introduced.

Lunch was calm, with Bulma teasing her sister and saying that her parents wanted grandchildren. Suddenly, Vegeta noticed Tights' husband's constant gaze at him and felt nervous. He could have sworn the man wouldn't take his eyes off his forehead and his spiked hair. Suddenly, he said:

"Are you sure you're not related to the Vegeta family?"

Vegeta disguised the surprise well and said, casually:

"As far as I know, the Vegeta are all dead. You know, the patriarch got involved with that terrible guy, Freeza."

"No, the two boys didn't really die. That's a rumor," said Jaco. "We know that one of the children was taken to Fierce's Landing in adoption at the time of his mother's death, Tarble Vegeta. The oldest, as far as we know, had disappeared. They think he was taken by Freeza, but that's speculation."

"I don't know... I don't believe it, Freeza must have killed the boy, why would he keep him alive? But why do you think I would look like them? I didn't get to know them, my family arrived in Vegetown a few years ago."

"Your forehead," said Jaco, pointing at the middle of Vegeta's front and the tip of his hair" I remember the old Vegeta. "My father even worked for him for a while. This peculiar forehead form is a striking feature of the family, they say, and everyone in the family has it. I even met Tarble in Fierce's Landing," he said, provoking Vegeta's curiosity, he had never known his brother's whereabouts. "We studied together at the Academy. You remind me of him a little."

"Academy?"

"Military. Tarble is a lieutenant in the barracks of Fierce's Landing, as am I here, in the Fort of New Sadala."

Vegeta froze. Of all the houses in New Sadala, he had fallen into the home of a damned military. I couldn't believe his bad luck. But he knew how to behave, and, in the late afternoon, when he returned with Bulma to the hotel, he sighed with relief. He hadn't been caught.

At that moment, he didn't know Jaco was watching a poster that had the drawing of a face covered up to his nose with a black scarf. It was one of the signs showing a man from Freeza's gang, and that was the bandit known as the falcon. He read the description:

"Dresses all black" (like the guy, he thought) "Wears a silver buckle and has silver guns" (doesn't turn any gun, but noticed the silver buckle on his belt). To top it off, the visible part of his face had a pair of black eyes and a prominent forehead under the spiked black hair.

Without alerting Tights of where he was going, he decided to go to Officer Hitto, chief of police of New Sadala. He was sure he had found the man and believed that his sister-in-law was in danger.

* * *

When they returned to downtown, New Sadala's birthday celebrations were in full swing. Vegeta wanted to run away from there, wanted to find a way to escape even from Bulma. However much she attracted him, he now felt the danger in the air. But she looked at him with those blue eyes and said:

"I'd love to go to the popular dance so much... but this mourning outfit keeps me from dancing, you know? I'd die seeing so much dance and music being forced to stand by to maintain my reputation."

He looked at her and smiled. How deliciously hypocritical that widow was. Ignoring the signs of imminent danger, he said:

"We can take a look at the party, Mrs. Briefs. There's no crime in that."

"Really! "she said as if she just needed someone's permission to have that transgressive behavior.

In fact, Vegeta wanted to be in a public place, where he could mix and run if he noticed any police movement. Besides, they were very close to the inn where Nappa and Raditz were hiding. Once there, it would be hard for the police to catch him, the prostitutes in the area had a protection agreement with the Freeza gang that not even the New Sadala police could overcome.

The square where the party took place was illuminated by lamps and adorned with colorful flags and ties of all colors. Bulma's mourning contrasted the profusion colorful dresses of the ladies who walked by, with their families or by the arm of the gentlemen. In a bold gesture, Bulma tied her arm with him, which she had not yet done because of the damned reputation. An ensemble played a cheerful tune, but not yet conducive to dancing. They were walking around the square, and for one fleeting moment, Vegeta had a glimpse of what it was like to be a free man for real.

He looked briefly at the lady beside him and knew that he would never have the courage to do with her what he had done so often. She was not a helpless prey like so many others, he was sure. If he took her to bed and wanted it badly, it would be to wake with her up in his arms and not run away like a rat. But that was out of the question. She was the sister-in-law of a military man who recognized him. Vegeta knew in less than a day, there would be a hundred posters with his face all over New Sadala and in all the surrounding towns.

The ensemble on stage was replaced by a much livelier band, and the party's master of ceremonies announced the couples' quadrille. Bulma made mention of leading him out of the square, and he told her, holding her arm firmly:

"Let's dance, Mrs. Briefs."

She hesitated for a moment and then replied:

"Why is that?"

"Because you want to do it, Bulma." he said, using another tone and speaking her name, the name he wished to keep forever "and because I want it to, too." he stared at her, and this time without the flattering expression he used to look gallant. He was a man and wanted a dance, at least with that woman. Even if he never saw her again in his life.

"Yes, you're right," she smiled, "I do."

Several scandalized glances accompanied the couple as they joined the couples' line. A grieving widow dancing the quadrille was a scandal to be remembered for at least twenty years. But Bulma didn't care, and Vegeta cared even less. When the dance started, Nothing else mattered.

Bulma spun in his strong arms, smiling, and he felt disappointed that he would not have her in his bed that night. He knew that when he finished that dance, he should run away as soon as possible, it was a matter of life and death. But he could die right there in that square crossed by the sheriff's shot who wouldn't give up that dance.

It was in the middle of the dance that he noticed the movement. He knew how to recognize cops from afar, even if they disguised it. He remembered that his pistols had stayed in the hotel. He had two choices: run quietly or wait for the music to finish, run to the hotel, and try a desperate escape.

And he chose the second one.

Bulma was red and radiant when they finished the dance. He pulled her by the arm and said, in a burst:

"We need to go."

She didn't understand, but she followed him, perhaps because she realized the sense of urgency. In less than a minute, they were at the hotel. He told her:

"I need to go to my room..."

He ran into his room and took everything he brought. Bulma was waiting for him outside the restaurant, believing they were going to dinner. But he had his pistols on his waist, and she was startled to see the expression on his face. Vegeta didn't even pay his bill, pretending to come back, but Bulma was smart enough to realize he was running away.

When he was at the hotel stable saddling his horse, she showed up:

"Where are you going, Mr. Prince?"

There was no one else in the stable. Vegeta cursed her boldness and said, without turning around, when she approached him:

"I'm dangerous, wanted criminal. I'm sure your brother-in-law ratted me out."

She widened her eyes, scared. Vegeta stared at her, he was very close to her, she could feel his breath accelerated near her face when he said:

"You have no reason to trust me... but I ask you only one thing: don't report me, don't scream. You gave me one of the best days of my life," he held her face in his hands and suddenly kissed her. Bulma rolled her eyes for an instant and then closed them, gluing her body to his and feeling his hot, demanding lips on hers for a moment that seemed eternal. He then separated from her and said:

"I'll never forget you, Bulma. I wanted to have you for myself."

He got on the horse almost on a jump, in surprising agility. They stared for a moment, and Bulma asked:

"What's your real name, anyway?"

"Vegeta." he laughed, as he always did in the face of danger "Prince Vegeta."

He spied the horse and disappeared into the darkness, leaving Bulma astonished at the stable door, hearing the noise of the hooves gradually going as he walked away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Precious Vegebul little chicks, don't kill me, but those two won't meet again, face to face, for 15 chapters...  
2\. 2. Yes, they have fallen in love, but you may realize that circumstances do not favor romance.  
3\. 3. Who's the dancer that Raditz is having an affair with? The first smut moment of this fic is between the two, in the next chapter, "The tale of the two brothers."  
4\. This chapter has more quotes on "And the wind took..." The dance scene is inspired by this scene at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGnHNAs_Fno.  
5\. Imagine what a duo would be Raditz and Vegeta if they stopped fighting and got together...  
6\. See you next time. I promise it will be sooner than the last one.


	12. Chapter 11 - The tale of two brothers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raditz saw briefly Goku meets Suno, awareness she is secretly in love with him.

> “I believe that there is one story in the world, and only one... Humans are caught—in their lives, in their thoughts, in their hungers and ambitions, in their avarice and cruelty, and in their kindness and generosity too — in a net of good and evil... There is no other story. A man, after he has brushed off the dust and chips of his life, will have left only the hard, clean questions: Was it good or was it evil? Have I done well — or ill?”
> 
> “Well, every little boy thinks he invented sin. Virtue we think we learn, because we are told about it. But sin is our own designing.”
> 
> “I wonder how many people I have looked at all my life and never really seen.”
> 
> **― John Steinbeck, East of Eden**

** _Back to the first day at New Sadala..._ **

As soon as he left Bulma at the hotel, Goku headed to the far north of New Sadala. After hours of heavy riding, he wanted only to trot lightly to the house where he could stay, and that's what he did. He did not notice but passed by a man wholly bald and another with very long hair, attracting the hairy's look for a moment. The man observed him only after he crossed but was intrigued by watching that man with a hat down with a hair stuck and shivering who was strangely familiar to him.

Goku stopped in front of a well preserved two pavements house, painted white, with a red roof and a tree and a small garden in front. He knocked on the door of the house and waited until a man with black skin and short stature opened the door and said:

"Goku!"

"Mr. Popo!" Goku hugged the man, who squeezed him and lifted him slightly. He was a robust man. 

"Is Professor Kami there?"

"Yes, yes, he is studying. Wait here."

A man with brown skin, wearing a turban, came from inside the house with open arms, and Goku hugged him. Some years before, when Goku was 11 years old, in a period when his grandfather had left him to stay there with the professor, Kami had tried to perfect the few letters Goku had learned, absolutely without success. At that time, the rumor was that Freeza was around the West Sayan area, and the old man had asked the scholar for help to protect his grandson. But everything was just a rumor, and six months later, Goku returned to the farm, a little less wild and more polite and disciplined, but as little literate as he had come. Then, whenever he would take horses to New Sadala, it was at the old man's house that he stayed.

"What brings you to New Sadala, my son?"

Goku explained his trip to West Sayan and how he had ended up as a stagecoach guard, explaining that he would now be in New Sadala every 15 days. He said he could stay at the Briefs' warehouse. Still, the old teacher said that, as Goku took the horses, he could spend as many days as he wanted in the company of him, and Popo, who had been a soldier at the time of the civil war and after became Kami's assistant. 

"Let's practice shooting while you are here, Goku," said Popo, giving a little bit on the boy's arm, who laughed.

"Yes, yes, Mr. Poppo, let's go!"

* * *

Raditz was looking at Gurdo's inert body, thrown in an alley in the city's lowest and dirtiest area when he told Nappa:

"Didn't you find Vegeta odd today?"

The other bandit had just left them there and had set off on a hurried gallop back to the hotel. Nappa threw some garbage on the body so Gurdo wouldn't be found before dawn and said:

"He was never much of a talker. He's not like you, who doesn't know how to keep quiet. Let's go."

They left the alley on opposite sides, Nappa would go to a brothel, as he always did, but Raditz's destination was other. As he was walking through the prostitution area, women were teasing him, who was laughing, and he was replying to making fun of them. But he was leading to another place. 

The prostitution zone had a limit, a clear border: it ended in a luxurious orient style building, which contrasted with everything around it: the "Serpent's Palace" brothel. That's where he was headed. A vast, luxurious hall, full of tables with a significant stage in the background, flanked by red velvet curtains, all lit with gas, was the principal and best-known part of the place. Still, most of the income came from the long row of small rooms, where women who strolled in the hall "entertained" selected customers who could pay better. 

For the less fortunate, there was the possibility of entering one of the side cabins and seeing a dancer play a particular performance. With much luck or some money stimulation, it could end up with the dancer sitting on the client's lap, but nothing more, because intimacy was not allowed inside the salon.

Raditz, however, did not fit into the "client" category. He would always come in and sit at the same table, ask for the same drink, and wait for the main show. Near midnight almost every room went dark, and the evening star appeared. She was tall, had white skin and curly hair of an intense red, and hypnotic green eyes that stared at the salon as she climbed on stage, wearing a small outfit, long legs wrapped in dark silk stockings supported on the heels of her red boots, moving with the grace of a snake. The master of ceremonies then announced her:

"Gentlemen, you can applaud at this moment, our Snake Princess, Hebi Hime!"

She then went to the back of the stage and returned, with her body wrapped in a long, docile albino snake, which she manipulated in fluid, hypnotic movements. Hime was the leading dancer of the house and the most desired woman in New Sadala. But Raditz really believed that her heart belonged to him because when he went to the Palace, there was no money to allow another man to lie in her bed. That night she belonged to Raditz.

When the show was over, he was taken to her chambers, where he left only at dawn. Not that he didn't give her a gift: every jewel, every small amount of gold he got was given to Hime, and she already counted on a small fortune in jewelry not only from him but from many admirers, including the mayor of New Sadala and Senator Gowasu, from whom she was protected a few years ago. Because of this "friendship," she had recently managed to expel a blue-haired young woman who was beginning to become famous and had attracted the senator's attention. Just like the stepmom queen, she had removed Snow White from there, in the impossibility of tearing her heart out.

But the princess of the serpents melted in the arms of that strong and barbaric man who did not care to share her with others, because he knew that he could not demand anything since he could give little, except to himself, to that woman who dominated his senses and his heart. The establishment owners hated Raditz deeply, but they could do nothing because her most famous and beautiful dancer demanded nothing but free transit for her beloved. 

That night, when he arrived, he found her undoing her hair, and she looked at him through the mirror. Saying nothing, Raditz approached behind her and started to untie her bodice, looking at her eyes through the mirror, with a malicious expression and a nasty smile on his lips when he asked:

"Did you miss me, my queen?"

"What do you think?" she said, staring at him as her right hand spread over his ham, tight in his beaten jeans. He laughed and began to pull more willingly the corset ties, and she protested:

"Radz... don't tear my clothes! Every outfit you rip is a $35 loss!

"What if I pay a hundred dollars to tear them?

"You know I don't take money from you, "she said, frowning and he laughed, settling:

"As you wish, Your Majesty, "he stopped touching the bustier and flexed one of his knees to lower himself behind it, slowly untied the corset with one hand while with the other, he played with his fingers between her thighs as she moaned. For each turn of the ribbon he took off, Raditz deposited a kiss along her spine and soon freed her from her corset and panties, dragging her to bed in nothing but her boots and socks, now playing with her, nibbling and licking her naked body. His fingers played happily in her intimacy, making her moan louder and beg for him, which he said:

"Now that there's nothing left to tear, I don't need to be delicate anymore, do I?"

She laughed as she watched him get rid of his own clothes in a hurry and brutality until he came over to possess her, already feeling relieved of the need to be gentle.

Soon they were both cuddled in a full-body embrace, moaning as they loved each other, Hime's delicate body clinging to Raditz's gigantic trunk, hands lost in his long wig, which enveloped her in darkness every time they kissed. He held her by the waist and turned her as if she weighed nothing, placing her over him, watching the perfect breasts' shuttle, which he eventually took and bit. Soon she let out a louder and sharper moan, and Raditz accompanied her, howling in the barbaric way that excited her so much, he was a brute, and intense was his way of loving her.

While they were hugged, he squeezed her in his arms without saying anything; it was his way of showing that he had missed her. Suddenly she said:

"Every time you go away, I think I'll never see him again."

"Every time I go away, I think that when I come back, you won't be waiting for me. I would go to the end of the world behind you."

"Fool," she said and kissed him, "I, at the end of the world, would be waiting for you."

They both laughed, and he said:

"I heard you made them throw out a dancer."

"Honey, this place only has room for one snake, and it sleeps in that little basket. That rattlesnake almost took away my senator's privileges... but she ran away when I said you were from Freeza's gang and would kill anyone against me."

He looked at her, bothered, and said:

"You mustn't tell anyone who I really am, Hime. I've said to you that a thousand times. And I think your senator is worth more to you than I am."

"My dear... the life of a woman like me doesn't have many opportunities. The closer you get to thirty years, the closer I get to picking up all my jewelry and gifts and running away with or without you."

"Would you run away without me?"

"It depends. Would you leave the gang for me?"

"You know what I really want... and it's not to keep me in this gang forever."

"But... what about the story of killing those who leave the gang?"

"That's a Freeza law. And it will only last as long as he lasts..."

A chill ran down Hime's spine:

"Do you intend to kill him?"

"We are all faithful to him because we know that nobody ambushes Freeza, nobody who tried to kill him, and there were many, succeeded. But yes, I swore he would die by my hands. He killed my entire family, and he thinks I forgot. But I never forget anything."

"Radz..." she kissed him, "Please be careful."

"After killing him, I would like to kill that Senator Gowasu and the mayor Emmah Daiyoh... just for putting those wrinkled hands on the woman I love."

"If I kill every man who put his hands on me, there will not be a single rich man left in New Sadala, my love."

He leaned over her, and her eyes had a furious glow, although there was a smile on his lips.

"Wouldn't it be fair, a New Sadala where all the rich men were killed and their gold distributed to the people?"

"The problem, my love, is that once you killed them, you wouldn't distribute any gold, would you? You would put all of it at my feet."

He laughed and kissed her. It was pure truth.

* * *

On Goku's third day in New Sadala, he remembered that he had promised to deliver a package to Suno, Arale's cousin, who lived in New Sadala. Suno was a beautiful girl, tall, with long red hair and brown eyes who lived in a beautiful house downtown with her parents and Ocho, a distant cousin who seemed to have mental problems. Goku planned to deliver the order and buy an engagement ring and another present for Chichi, but when he saw him at the house's door, Suno screamed and hugged him radiantly:

"Goku! How long you haven't been here, come in!"

He was dragged into the house despite the protests and saying he couldn't take long. But the girl did not seem willing to hear 'no' as an answer and said that he would have lunch with her, or she would never excuse him. As he was already a little hungry, Goku accepted. Her family was still friendly to him, but he realized some tension between Suno and her parents. She just seemed to talk straight with her cousin, Ocho.

After lunch, he thought there was no more reason to stay there and decided to say goodbye. Suno then said:

"Are you going to the festival tonight?"

"I don't know, Suno. I promised I would train shooting with Mr. Popo. And I need to buy a gift for my fiancée."

"Are you… committed?" The girl couldn't disguise the disappointment in her voice.

"Yes, I'm going to marry the daughter of the priest from West Sayan," he said, casually, "I would like you to go, Suno. I have a few friends."

"I don't know if I can," she said, frowning, "West Sayan is very far away."

Without realizing Suno's grief with the news, he said:

"Well, perhaps I go to that festival. Professor Kami talked about it yesterday. Can we see each other there?"

"Yes," said Suno, without disguising his annoyance. "See you there."

Goku was surprised to know that the jewelry stores in New Sadala didn't open on Saturdays because of their owners' religion, and decided he would buy the ring on Monday. In the late afternoon, he arrived at the teacher's house, practiced a little shooting with Mr. Popo, and decided to go to that festival. The main square of the city was bright and colorful, but what really attracted him was the various stalls of sweets and food. 

While eating, he saw Bulma passing with a short guy and almost called her, but he thought it better to stay in her corner; after all, she seemed delighted with her arm tight to the boy. When the dancing started, Goku figured it would be better to leave. After all, he didn't know very well how to dance and didn't have a pair. He thought it would be useful to learn, maybe Chichi wanted to dance at their wedding.

Suddenly, he saw Suno and waved to her. The girl came to him and said:

"Goku! Do you want to dance?"

"Uh, Suno, I can't dance, I don't know how."

"Ah... do you want to eat something?"

"I've already eaten everything at this party," laughed Goku. "But I can eat one more candy. Where are your parents?"

"I ran away from my parents. They are with a boy who wants to be my fiancé."

"Fiancé?"

"Yes, Goku ... a military, he asked my hand to them, and they are trying to convince me to accept."

"And you like him?"

"No..."

"Then, don't accept it!"

"My parents want to force me into it... but I thought... if you could take me."

"Take you where? The stage? Well, I don't know if you'd fit in at West Sayan."

"No, Goku, run away with me from here..."

"Why would I run away with you?" They had walked away from the main square, and now they were walking along a side street without Goku realizing where they were going. Suno looked to the sides, apprehensive, and, without him having time to react, took a step in his direction and glued his lips to those of Goku, who rolled his eyes and walked away scared.

"Suno... what was that?"

"Goku, I love you! Why didn't you ask me to marry you? My parents wouldn't object. Now they will want me to accept his court anyway!"

"Suno..." he was still a little confused by the kiss, but he needed to make the girl understand, "I'm marrying Chichi, and as beautiful as you are and a great friend... she's the one I like. But I don't think you should marry someone you don't like. Say you don't want to get married. Before it's too late." 

She lowered her eyes, and there were tears in them. Goku sighed, exasperated, and said:

"Come on, I will take you back to your parents. Promise that you will say no to the guy."

"I cannot promise that."

"For our friendship. And because you will find someone who really likes you and that you also love ... as I love my Chichi."

"Okay, I promise."

Goku then smiled and extended his arm to her and led her to the central square. Again, he saw Bulma walking in a hurry together with the guy he had seen with her earlier. Suddenly, a man bumped into Suno and Goku at the same time. Suno lost her balance, and the man held her. Goku said:

"Hey, buddy, look out!"

"Sorry, my lady and knight." He was tall and wore a long, dark coat. He had no hair, and his hat was lying on his back, held only by the fine leather cord. He showed a sheriff's star stuck on his coat and said, "I'm pursuing a suspect."

The man forced his way between people in front of him, and Goku saw that he stopped ahead. Evidently, he had lost who he was chasing. Suno had accompanied the man with his eyes, like him, and said:

"Bandits at the festival?"

"I hope not," said Goku. "Let's look at your parents."

She nodded, and soon they found her parents. Beside them was a very young boy, with very light green eyes and platinum hair, almost white. He was wearing a military uniform and must have been Suno's suitor. He was a little lower than Goku and was strangely facing him when he approached and said:

"Suno is delivered. She got lost from you!"

Her parents smiled at Goku and, suddenly, the young officer said, with his voice dragged:

"We don't know each other, sir..."

"Son. Son Goku," said Goku, stretching out the hand that the other shook without much force, saying:

"Lieutenant Zamasu... thank you for bringing us my lovely company and future bride."

Suno looked at Goku, who raised an eyebrow. She let go of Goku's arm and murmured a thank you, before turning to the other and saying:

"Lieutenant, you are very kind and polite. But I wouldn't like to marry someone whose feelings I don't correspond."

The boy rolled his eyes, scared, and said:

"And that's because of this..." he faced Goku once again looking for words, and Goku answered:

"Stagecoach guard. But no, it's not because of me, we're just friends, and I'm getting married soon in West Sayan. But Suno told me he doesn't like you to get married. Would you like to marry someone who does not love you?"

The man bagged Goku, livid. He turned to her parents and said, suddenly:

"This is a huge affront. I received permission from you to court Suno and now..." he looked into Suno's frightened eyes and said, "I shouldn't have been interested in such a mundane woman!"

"Is there a problem happening here?" The man who had bumped into Goku and Suno earlier appeared behind the young military man who suddenly stretched out and said:

"Officer Hitto..."

"If I heard right, Lieutenant, you were forcing your court to a lady who does not want it. It's no crime to be uninterested in a person. And we know what your father, Senator Gowasu, thinks about his mania of forcing people to do what you want to be anchored in your rank..."

The boy shot Hitto with his eyes, but he couldn't do anything. They were known: a low ranking military man with a reputation of messing around with people underpinned by his father's position and the fact that he was an army man and a local authority to whom he owed, if not obedience, at least respect. Recognizing his defeat, the Lieutenant made a dry greeting to everybody and left, looking once again at Goku before leaving. 

"Forgive me for intruding," said the officer, "but I was looking for the two young men to know if when we saw each other earlier, they came to know a couple passing by you, a man dressed in black and a young woman with blue hair."

"No," said Suno.

"I saw them," said Goku, "the girl is Bulma, my boss. She is staying at the Grande Hotel, Sadala."

"Is she really?" Thank you for the information... Sir, do you want me to assign a police officer to accompany your family home? At least until I report the Lieutenant's abuse..."

"That won't be necessary," said Suno's father, quite dull. "We live very near here, at number 21 of Blue Avenue."

The officer looked briefly at Suno and then smiled:

"Miss, you were fearless." He looked at her parents, who were looking at him, half suspicious and said, "Lady and sir, I will pay a visit soon, when work allows. But feel invited to look for me if the Lieutenant upsets you again."

He turned around with a turn of his long coat and went out through the square, towards the hotel. Suno followed him with his eyes, and Goku smiled. He said goodbye to her family, confident that her parents would be relieved by her not marrying Zamasu.

Later, lying in his bed at Mr. Kaioh's house, Goku briefly thought about the kiss Suno had given him. It hadn't been good, it hadn't been bad, but it had been scary. Suddenly he thought about what it would be like to kiss Chichi and whether she would have the courage to do what Suno had done with him. 

He slept and dreamed that Chichi would kiss him. And it was a good dream.

* * *

"IDIOT!" Raditz hit Vegeta in the face as soon as he finished telling how he had escaped from the square's police. "What will we do if you are recognized, and they put up posters with your ugly face all over New Sadala?"

He was leaving to see Hime when he saw the other arriving and hiding the horse. Nappa was watching them both in silence when he said:

"If we had already got Boter, we could leave this very night, before we have the need to deviate from the roads to avoid roadblocks. But if we go back to Freeza with the incomplete service, he kills the three of us. The only thing we can do is wait until tomorrow and leave you locked in this room until we have an escape plan."

"And how are you two going to get the damn thing without me?"

"If there is one thing you always prove is that you're not indispensable, you idiot dwarf," said Raditz, looking at him with hate: "with the rage that I am, just imagine that he is you and I will break him to pieces."

"Let him go, Raditz. Go to see your girl, leave Vegeta with me".

Raditz left feeling angry. Nappa observed Vegeta for a while, and then he said:

"From now on, you will do what I tell you until we are safe and away from here."

* * *

"Would you kill a man for me?" Hime's voice whispered in Raditz's ear, which opened his eyes, suspicious.

"Who do you want dead?" he said, staring at her.

"The senator has an annoying son, he's military... and he hates me. I'm afraid he'll do something against me."

"And why would he do that?"

"His father more than once spoke of making me a protege..."

Raditz got up from bed, angry.

"You'd love that, wouldn't you? To become an exclusive lover... Hime, I know I can't offer you anything... but I would kill this senator if he put you in a house as a sole lover. I'd kill him, you understand?"

Hime stood up and said:

"You don't seem to understand, do you? If I have a chance to guarantee myself after I stop being a star, I have to take it from you or not? This time not even a jewel brought me."

He faced her, really, so he said:

"I'll bring a jewel next time..." he got up from the bed and started to get dressed "until then, make fair use of your senator's treasures."

When he left, he thought that maybe he had gotten too involved with her without looking back.

* * *

The next day, Nappa gathered them and said:

"Let's kill Boter tonight and run away in the dark." He stretched out a black suit to Vegeta, who picked up, bored and said:

"What is this?"

"A cassock. It's a disguise I got with my friends from the house in front... you'll wear it when we leave New Sadala. And don't think about complaining. Be dressed when we get back."

Raditz laughed on purpose, mainly to annoy Vegeta. To increase the other's anger, he said he was going for a walk to enjoy the day. 

* * *

Goku had decided to take advantage of Sunday morning to take a walk and go to the church in New Sadala, thinking that since he would marry the daughter of a priest, it was polite to at least know how to describe a church in the big city. There were several churches of different religions, but he chose the Baptist because it was the most similar to West Sayan's: it was in the center of a square, it was white with blue windows and doors just like the little church he knew. He stayed a few minutes inside while a cult was taking place, but he started to get sleepy and decided to leave.

Golden Nimbus was waiting for him tied to a pole next to the church. He untied her and gently stroked the mare's neck before mounting her. He didn't find New Sadala such a fun city. The moments he enjoyed most were still when he could ride to the meadow on the city limits and lie on the grass while Nimbus chewed the fresh bush cheerfully, varying from his bland hay diet.

He started trotting lightly through the square, did not want to gallop yet in the street so full of people, and it was at that moment that he passed by another man, tall, healthy, and with long hair that watched him since he released his mare for the ride.

He didn't notice the other's gaze. It was a really impressed look. And when the mare passed by him, Raditz turned his head, seeing the black and chirpy hair shaking as the owner of it released the reins and opened gallop towards the south of the city.

Raditz decided to go back to the inn because he felt confused and stunned, with the impression that he had seen a ghost. Because the guy he had seen riding the horse was the perfect portrait of his father, killed in front of his boyish eyes years before by Freeza. 

Raditz was watching the horse go in the southern direction of the city with the willingness to follow the boy and ask him who he was, but remembered their unfavorable situation in New Sadala and decided to return to the security of the inn. He put his hands in his pockets and started to ask himself who was that man who had made him have the feeling of seeing someone long dead come back to life: someone whose death he had witnessed, his father.

Goku headed south without knowing that he had passed on the side of the last tie between him and the family he once had. Raditz returned to the hostel without knowing that he had not seen a look-alike of his father, but the last member of his family who still lived.

And when they met again, it would not be like brothers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Hebi Hime is the Dragon Ball Snake Princess, who was once the great villain of another fanfic of mine. Here in this "incarnation," I enjoy the supposed relationship she has with Raditz.   
2\. If Raditz loves Hime? Yes, but in his own way.  
3\. GoChis, don't kill me because Suno stole the first kiss from Goku. This was good for him to see that he is not a seven”headed animal.   
4\. As you can see, Hitto is on Vegeta's glue, but he didn't reach it. Will it catch him?   
5\. The two quotes from the book "East of Eden" were put here mainly because this chapter deals with two brothers with very different paths and trajectories. And I dare say that the relationship between them is the most important in West Sayan.   
6\. In the next chapter, be prepared for a big surprise. I will try to translate it as soon as possible, thanks for reading.


	13. Chapter 12 - Going Away from New Sadala

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bulma is surprised and not in a good way. Vegeta has to run from New Sadala disguised.

> _“Home. I’ll go home. And I’ll think of some way to get him back. After all, tomorrow is another day!”_
> 
> **(Margareth Mitchell – Gone with the wind)**

Bulma Briefs' right foot beat nervously on the ground in front of Officer Hitto, whom she faced ambushed and impatient. He sighed deeply. The woman didn't want to collaborate at all. He was sure she had been with the guy for two days, and if he had run away, he was a criminal. But she refused to turn him in.

“I'll ask you one more time, Mrs. Briefs... what was the man's name?”

“Rogers. Rogers Prince, something like that. He had one more name, but I don't remember.”

“And you really didn't see which direction he took after he left the hotel?”

“I have no idea where he went. He left me waiting in the restaurant and disappeared. Can I leave?”

He snitched.

“Your brother-in-law said the guy looked like the criminal known as ‘the hawk’ of the gang of Freeza” he extended to her a wanted poster showing a man with half his face hidden by a handkerchief. She frowned, and he asked, "Are you sure you don't see any resemblance between that man you met and this portrait:”

“Frankly, officer, how can I find someone who only shows two inches of the face?”

He was almost sure she was lying. She was close enough to recognize those eyes and the shape of his hair. Hitto knew Jaco and knew that the military was a damn eagle eye after all. If he realized the resemblance, it was because it was real. But the girl was pretending to know nothing about the man.

“So... at no time did he tell her his real name? Not once?”

“I told you, he said his last name was Prince.”

“Which is, coincidently," said Hitto, “the same name of the son of King Vegeta, who disappeared twenty years ago. Are you sure it wasn't him? There is a rumor he is in the Freeza's pack."

“How can I know if a guy I saw just passing by the hotel is a boy kidnapped twenty years ago, sir?”

“Mrs. Briefs, if you are protecting the man because he flirted with you...”

“How dare you, Officer, make that kind of insinuation? I'm a respectable, widowed, coy woman! I'm not protecting him, I've said everything I know. We had lunch together at most twice; he was just kind and cordial.”

“But you were seen dancing at the popular ball with him by several witnesses.”

“Is it a crime to dance, even being a widow, Officer? It's only a miserable month before my mourning ends. And I've been using it for almost two years!”

“Madam, I understand that you want to protect the man who was kind and polite to you... but I don't think that you should...” 

“And I don't think you should judge poor widows as accomplices of bandits and murderers.”

Bulma couldn't even know why she was protecting that man. He had confessed to being a criminal. And he had asked her not to turn him in. He was probably a long way from New Sadala if he was smart. And the damned Hitto, what a tireless man (and very handsome, she couldn't help noticing). Wouldn't he ever be convinced?

What she couldn't imagine was that the Officer had already seen dozens and dozens of women and a more than a hundred men shamelessly lying as she did at that moment. He had methods to get to the truth, and asking exhaustively was only one of them, but usually, this was not the purpose of the endless interrogations. 

What he wanted was to know Bulma. His reasons for protecting a scumbag like that with such insistence. In an ideal world, she would have opened her mouth and handed him at the first minute the identity of the damned bandit who had been robbing stagecoaches for more than nine years... but they didn't live in the ideal world. People needed encouragement to speak the truth. He didn't shy away from using violent stimuli with men, primarily criminals. 

But she was innocent and, worse, woman. He would never use some directly cruel method against a woman, even more, a rich, educated (ok, not so refined, most of the laundresses in New Sadala seemed more polite than her) and well-born. The encouragement there should be different. He should break her loyalty to the criminal. Even there, he tried to do it without needing to appeal to a game that he considered a little dirty. But she didn't give him a choice. 

“I know, Mrs. Briefs, that he must be very gallant and polite, and, maybe, that's why you must have been led to a mistake to think that he had some consideration for the lady...”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Well... there is a man who has been acting here in New Sadala eventually. He takes advantage of the ingenuity of ladies of society... of course, most of them are not looking for us. Still, there are indications that there were several of them... widows, preferably not all as young or as pretty as you, and most of them, you can imagine, with a reputation to watch over. Just like you.”

Bulma didn't know what the man was getting at, but the truth is that she didn't like the direction that conversation was taking; in fact, she didn't like it at all. She stirred uncomfortably in her chair, and the Officer noticed and continued.

“I would say that the lady did not fall for his blow, but others fell. And one of them, well, one of them came to us, obviously asking for the most secrecy possible, because... how would you say that to such a respectable lady... she lay down with the guy.”

“And why would that interest me, Officer? We don't even know if it's the same person...”

She didn't know why, but she felt restless as if she was approaching something very horrible, something she wouldn't like to see. She remade in her chair, uncomfortable.

“Well, Mrs. Briefs, we have a good portrait painter, and he does portraits with great precision. He's the one who made the one you have in your hands, which really shows little because the totality of the victims of the stagecoaches never saw the face of the damned assailant. But, I would say that there is another portrait you should check, supposedly it portraits another man.”

He took a paper out of the drawer. It was a very well-drawn portrait of a man who had the same face, the same penetrating black eyes, and the same pointed hair with a beak in his forehead as Vegeta. She knew it was him looking at her in the paper exactly how he looked her in the hotel, with a malicious gaze. And Hitto put it next to the other portrait. The eyes were identical. She swallowed dry and bit her lips. Did he...?

“This guy," said Hitto, “he deceived a girl who complained to us, although she asked for secrecy, so we didn't disclose this portrait. And she was young and beautiful like you... After one night, well, people make mistakes, who are we to judge them no? But she was with him, and he stole several things from her. Jewelry, money, and a valuable silver watch.”

It was like getting punched in the stomach. Bulma immediately remembered him taking out of his pocket the elaborate silver watch, with the lid covered with beautiful filigrees. She remembered thinking that maybe it was a little feminine, but not giving any importance to the suit. By the time she realized it, the words were already coming out of her mouth:

“I saw this watch," said Bulma coldly, squeezing his lips, remembering the silver watch, “and he is the man, really.” She felt a cold rage inside her chest, the miserable one had almost fooled her, “and I remembered that he said his name was Prince Vegeta, Officer. And I believe he is this ‘Hawk’ guy. The resemblance is, in fact, remarkable.”

“Are you sure?” He wanted to laugh, but he couldn't. She had handed him the man on a silver platter. He would never tell her that, in fact, the complaining widow was old and ugly, and not a beautiful young woman, the trick that had made her indignant, making her wonder if she was not just another one. She would leave no doubt that for that criminal, she had nothing special.

“May I go now?”

“You are dismissed, Mrs. Briefs.”

She was getting up when an assistant came from prison saying:

“An inmate is insisting on talking to this girl, Officer... he swears he knows her and recognized her by her voice, after all, she doesn't speak very quietly...

“An inmate?

“Yes, one of those two who were caught trying to sell a miraculous elixir to impotent old men, remember? The tallest.”

“I don't believe he knows her... let's ignore it, said Hitto.”

“For God's sake, no! “A voice came from inside the prison “I swear I know her!”

Bulma rolled her eyes. She knew that voice. She looked at the Officer and, without waiting for any authorization, got up, and went to jail. Whistles and screams from the other prisoners accompanied her. She advanced to a cell almost at the end of the prison. There were two men there: One short, with thin whiskers like a cat, and another boy, tall, strong and handsome, with black hair tied on a ponytail and with two scars cutting his face, one on each cheek. Bulma faced him, livid, and said:

“Yamcha... are you still alive?”

He smiled, dull, and said:

“Yes, honey... how have you been?”

* * *

The room was small, stuffy, utterly different from the one where he had stayed until the day before. But Vegeta was not in a position to complain because she knew that there, at least, he would not be discovered. He looked at a black spot on the ceiling, thinking about nothing specific, just wondering if Bulma would denounce him. He had hope that she wouldn't.

If she didn't tell anyone who he was, the foolishness he had done by speaking her his name in a rupture would have no consequence. But, if she confessed to someone who he was, if she denounced him over to the police, the next day, his face would be scattered all over New Sadala and beyond, all the way to Fierce’s Landing and maybe even to Vegetown, which was almost 200 miles away.

“She won't turn me in.” he roared to himself, “I made her feel special...”

Because it was. Bulma had been remarkable for him. He couldn't deny that even before the danger, he had decided that that would be a woman he wouldn't steal. He wouldn't treat her like he treated all the others because she wasn't like all the others. Or maybe it was and he who was playing the fool this time, thinking that a rich widow would be interested in him, a wanted and dangerous bandit. A man with a price on his head. A thief. A murderer.

And he was in trouble, really, or he wouldn't be wearing a cassock. He looked at the small table, filthy, a bowl of water, and a clerical hat with three beaks, very worn by the Catholic priests. Nappa, after all, thought about everything. Fathers were not too disturbed in blockades, and that hat, buried in his head, would disguise him and hide his forehead, the peculiar shape of his family that denounced him so much. He imagined only how one of those clothes had ended up inside a brothel, although he thought he knew. He gave half a laugh. Fathers, pastors, police, and military. All of them hypocrites full of morals, whoremongers just like his father.

It was only a matter of time until Nappa and Raditz solved the ‘issue’ with Boter, then they could go away, and he would forget that it had happened, and he would never have to think about Bulma, with his blue hair, his bright eyes, and his perfect smile, ever again. She would be just a stumble, a mistake in an almost impeccable career of crimes. 

She looked at the silver watch. It was ten o'clock at night, and he thought if Nappa and Raditz had really kicked Boter's ass when he heard the door open and Nappa rushed in, followed by Raditz, who was wearing a T-shirt, no shirt or coat, his muscles stretched expanding the fine mesh, stained with fresh blood. He had his hat melted on his back, and his eyes shining as if he was absurdly excited. The most shocking was that he had blood covering his arms up to his elbows, and his shirt soaked in blood, bright red against the immaculate white. 

Vegeta was cruel, many times. She knew how to be mean and make enemies scream in pain when she needed to make them confess something at Freeza's command... but he had never seen Raditz in that state. He looked like pure rage. Nappa told him:

“Wash yourself. And get out of those clothes, good God, I'm glad he has a change of clothes for you.”

“What have you done with Boter?” asked Vegeta disbelieving.

Raditz laughed, dipping his arms in the water and seeing it dyeing with blood.

“I don't think there is enough water here.”

“I'll get more," said Nappa, taking the jug and leaving.

An uncomfortable silence fell on both of them. Vegeta repeated the question:

“What did you do with Boter?”

“I took some blood from him, as you can see," said Raditz, still with the grief smile on his face. “I said I was angry, didn't I? But I didn't even think about you... I didn't need to," he said, "but he did say something that made me angry.”

“Did he offend Hime?” asked Vegeta, who knew about his attachment to the dancer.

“No more than I would offend.” Raditz said, “I'm not at ease with her.”

“So, what did Boter do?”

Raditz looked at Vegeta for a long time. They didn't like each other, they didn't trust each other, but he needed to say it aloud.

“They say that my mother was a gorgeous woman, you know? Many people were jealous of Barddock. Nappa himself told me that once.”

“Boter offended your mother?”

Raditz smiled again and said:

“I had the knife, you know? I just wanted to stab his heart, like I like to do with traitorous bastards. But he called my father a traitor, which I usually put up with, and my mother a bitch” he stared Vegeta, his eyes very black because of her dilated pupils of hate “and said she was a whore.”

“Boter was an asshole. The kind that talks any bullshit.”

“He's now an asshole with no arms, no legs, and no head." Raditz laughed, “and he was alive until I finished. But first, I ripped out his tongue. And while he was trying to scream, he was suffocating in blood... he deserved it. He never calls anyone's mother a whore again, that scumbag.”

At that moment, Nappa came in, with a towel and more water and said:

“Quickly. Very fast. We changed the plans, and we have to run as fast as possible.”

“Why? “said Vegeta, standing up.

“Because there are posters with your face all over the city.”

Raditz laughed, and Vegeta faced him, full of hate.

“It seems that your pretty rich widow gave you up, short boy.”

* * *

Yamcha received all his belongings at the police station. Next to him, his friend Pual avoided facing Bulma, who seemed extremely angry. Officer Hitto had finished his duty and had gone home. The replacement was a goofy guy, a little bit headstrong and extremely slow called Monaka. He would invent Yamcha's assets with the speed of a slug:

“A copper whisker. a cowhide... a lighter... a leather saddle... a rope...”

Yamcha was picking up her belongings with a radiant smile that contrasted directly with Bulma's wrinkled face. When the other one finished, he asked:

“What about our horses and the wagon?”

“The wagon is in the courtyard.... the horse in the municipal stable. You were lucky. You were sentenced to pay for the crime against the economy, but the girl there paid the fine. That's why you're being released, you know...” said Officer Monaka with his dragged voice.

“Can I get the wagon?” said Yamcha, still smiling.

“Do you want an agent to accompany you?”

“No, no!” he said, “I'll go alone.”

He went to the courtyard where there was a closed wagon with an extravagant painting that said, 'Miraculous Elixir of Doctor Yamcha's virility!’ Bulma looked at it and was absurdly embarrassed. She no longer contained herself and said:

“I received a letter saying that you had died, Yamcha.”

“Yeah, I know, baby... it was a strategy. I intended to come back in a few weeks” he disappeared inside the carriage, and she stayed outside, outraged.

“But what the hell was you up to?”

He put his head out of the wagon and said:

“Is there a cop around?”

“No, Yamcha, answer my questions!”

“Then we can leave... I said, Pual, they wouldn't find it!”

“_Guapo_!” said Pual, finally looking happy.

Yamcha left the wagon carrying a box full of bottles, apparently full of liquid. Then he turned to Bulma and said:

“There was no gold in that mine, and I didn't want to go back to the city poorer than I left... so I got some means to get money... none of them very honest but none as dirty as stealing. Come on, I need to get my horse from the municipal stable.”

“What do you mean...”

“I was on a casino ship with Pual, and we were able to triple our money... before they threw us in the river. Fortunately, all the money was in our vests, and we swam very well. Then I had the idea of the elixir... and Pual disguised himself as a satisfied old man, he has no idea how much money we got, Bulma, it was better than a year in that horrible mine!”

They walked to the municipal stable, and Yamcha recovered his beautiful horse, grey with small dark spots, and Pual's, which was brown and common.

“Are you telling me that you lived the last two years as a con man?”

“Not all the time. I also competed as a roper in some rodeos... what matters is in here.” He had tied the box with the bottles in the loin of Pual's animal and offered her his croup, which he mounted, still with a frown in her face. “Shall we go to your hotel?”

“Not at all! You will stay at the warehouse with Yajirobe. And when we arrive in West Sayan, I decide what to do with you! I think I'll ask Sheriff Satan to hang you!”

“But sweetie, you paid the fine, I'm no longer a crook, thanks to you!” he said, with a radiant smile. And I profited horrors with the miraculous elixir. I can open a business in West Sayan, now, you know?

“None of this changes the fact that I spent two years grieving for a dead husband who actually was alive. Consider yourself lucky because I didn't leave him there, moldy while waiting for the horse auction to cover you're fine," she said coldly. “Frankly, not if what's worse, being a widow or being married to you!”

He swallowed dry. It wouldn't be that easy to win back his wife, he thought. 

***

Raditz was riding his horse and would leave town on his own. He was not wanted and did not take risks. Nappa had got a wagon for him and Vegeta to leave town and another cassock, this one for him. He had towed their horses to the wagon, and brought a wooden coffin, made some holes in the sidewalls for Vegeta to breathe.

“Come in," he said, “and be very quiet. There's a block at the town's exit, and hopefully, they won't open the coffin. If they do, play dead. And be convincing if you don't want to end up dead in a suit. When we get to Freeza, we understand each other.”

He didn't say anything. He just went into the coffin and was very quiet, waiting. There was nothing else to do. He would lose track of time in there. And it was complicated because he would only think about Bulma's betrayal. He could have sworn that she wouldn't turn him in.

* * *

“Well, it's the last one," said Yamcha. “He had broken each of the bottles in the crate. They were painted inside to look full of liquid, but they contained, in fact, a lot of money, a small fortune in crumpled, and little musty notes that he displayed proudly.

Bulma looked at him, with his hands on his waist and said, outraged:

“No matter how much money, it's not worth the two years I believed you were dead, Yamcha!”

“But sweetheart... I was ashamed!”

“I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD.”

“But I'm alive!” he smiled, “and you can take away the grief, dear.”

She looked at him indignantly and said:

“I don't know if I can stand the shame of having been cheated by you. Sleep there, and soon we'll talk. I don't want to see your face before Wednesday when we left on the couch."

He stared as Bulma walked away. Yajirobe and Pual looked at him and, suddenly, Yajirobe said:

“If I was a woman, this money would have convinced me. But Bulma is a little more stubborn.”

“Well, shut up," he said irritated.”

* * *

Nappa was relieved when they were approached at the barrier. Still, he convinced the policeman that he would bury Brother Benedict in an abbey outside of New Sadala, at his brother's will. Then, when they thought it was safe enough, they abandoned the wagon, the priest's clothes, and rode the horses, running to Raditz, which was waiting for them near Oozaru. They went to the Paozu canyon towards Freeza's hideout on the outskirts of Vegetown, where they arrived at dawn.

Freeza couldn't stand being woken up, much less with bad news, so that, only at noon, they managed to report everything that had happened to the boss, who looked at them with that stern and indecipherable look. He looked at Raditz and said:

“He did a good job. You can go get your reward ... and a jewel to take to your Hime.”

That left Nappa and Vegeta. He looked at them both and said:

“Nappa, Nappa... you always protecting your little prince... but from the evils, the lesser. Not being able to walk freely anymore seems to be a punishment enough. You should have been more prudent, Vegeta...” he shook his head, regretting. “And didn't even steal his widowhood, I hope he didn't fall in love.”

Vegeta faced Freeza. He knew it was a test, and he wouldn't have new chances. He thought of Bulma. She had betrayed him, and it was only fair to pay in the same coin.

“I got nothing from her... but I got the information.”

“Hohohoho. Is it anything useful?”

“Remember when you wanted to steal dynamite from the copper mines but gave up because the distance wasn't worth it? Because we will soon have a lot of dynamite to steal and sell to those crazy people in the South. They will start dynamiting the stones between Paozu and Mount Sayan to open a tunnel for the railroad to pass through. It will be in less than two months.”

“Interesting, interesting... hohoho," Freeza said, "but it's not much information for such a vacillating size, don't you think?”

“And I discovered the new route of the stage. The route is through the Indian lands and stopping at Vila Pinguim. The guy who pulled Kiwi's finger is the new guard; he suggested this route. The coach leaves New Sadala next Wednesday.”

“This is relevant information.”

“We can make a good assault," said Vegeta, thinking about seeing Bulma once again, but this time, not with such goodwill.

“We can, but not you. I'll give this mission to Zarbon because of your mistake. Maybe next time I'll send you, Vegeta. When there are no beautiful widows to try your spirit.”

He felt indignant but said nothing. He knew why he was being punished. And, deep down, it was not very good to think that he had betrayed Bulma, even if she had also betrayed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Hitto is not necessarily a king of ethics when it comes to obtaining information. And that puts Bulma and Vegeta on a collision course. I told you it wouldn't be that easy, remember?  
2\. And in the equation comes the young and not so ethical husband (in every sense) of Bulma, Yamcha. I told you that there would be surprises and twists and turns in this fic... and this is just one of them.   
3\. Raditz is really a killer, but not the cold killer. As you can see from what he did with Boter, it's the emotions that command him, not the reason, really.   
4\. The double betrayal, Bulma delivering Vegeta's identity and Vegeta delivering the information he got with Bulma only happened because of the misunderstanding. As you can imagine, the opposite of passion is not anger, but indifference. Keep hope, my dear VegeBuls.   
5\. The thing I like the most about this chapter is the talk of Yajirobe, hahaha.   
6\. In the next chapter, Goku will prove if he is the right stagecoach guard.   
7\. The quote of this chapter, as it couldn't be otherwise, is from Bulma. She now, like Scarlett, only wants to go home.


	14. Chapter 13 - The Assault

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The stagecoach leaves New Sadala, and Goku faces his first challenge: a robber by Zarbon and other burglars from Freeza's gang.

> _"The battle-fire had dropped over him, burning him everywhere with its righteous heat, sizzling his sight, frying his synapses and roasting his heart in its holy glow."_
> 
> **(Stephen King, Dark Tower Volume III - Wizard and Glass)**

Goku took his possessions and said goodbye to Professor Kamisama on Tuesday night. He carried everything he needed in a medium gear on the Golden Nimbus croup and two small side bags that he held in the mare's saddle. However, before riding, he opened one of the bags, took out a small velvet dark box, and opened it. He couldn't help smiling in front of the golden ring adorned by a single white pearl, which he would put on the finger of Chichi as soon as he arrived in West Sayan.

It had been difficult to find a ring for a price that he could pay and thought Chichi might like. But when he put his eyes on that pearl, he saw that it was something delicate and special like Chichi. And he had spent $200 without complaining.

"The price of one of the little cows I bought for her, but it was worth it," he thought, keeping the ring back and jumping on the saddle with a happy nod to the Professor and to Poppo, who was waving until he turned the corner and took the main street, where he trotted joyfully with Nimbus. It was amazing how quickly she had learned his commands. Goku never used spurs, he simply knew how to communicate so that any horse always understood what he wanted, and Nimbus was no different.

He arrived in a few minutes at the Briefs' warehouse, which was one of the largest in the port of New Sadala. After all, Bulma's family was very rich and had business not only in West Sayan. He knocked, and Yajirobe appeared, saying:

"So you had a good week?"

"Yes, I did. "Goku smiled, "and you?"

"Neither good nor bad. But to these guys there was not very good, by the way "he pointed to two men that Goku didn't know and was sitting, with identical expressions of discouragement, overpacks of rice. Goku looked at Yajirobe, intrigued, and said:

"Hi, I'm Goku. Who are you?"

“_Rechazados, coitados, infelices ... eso es lo que somos_ “ said the lowest, with a sore expression. The tallest stood up and said:

"Stop being dramatic, Pual. I have said that her anger will pass. "He extended his hand to Goku and said, "Yamcha, husband of Bulma Briefs, your servant."

"Husband? Bulma was not a widow?"

"Well, I wasn't really dead, as you can see," smiled Yamcha. "Neither I nor my partner Pual. We left West Sayan wanting to get rich, but we ended up here, with good money but still far from a million dollars..."

“Muy Lejos...” echoed Pual.

"But let's not talk about this. What are you doing here, Goku?" Yamcha was very proud of himself, dominated the conversation, and any discussion quickly.

"I am the guard of the stagecoach. I was hired to avoid robberies."

"West Sayan's coach always suffered from it. Has it gotten worse in recent times?"

"A lot," said Yajirobe. "They live robbing us. But Goku here had a good idea: we changed the route, passing through the Indian territory. Freeza doesn't go there."

"And the natives?"

"They are my friends!" said Goku, smiling.

"Boy... what a nice pair of guns you have there, huh?"

"You have to see him shooting," said Yajirobe, "that's the fastest I've ever seen."

"Can you show me?" Yamcha took a bottle that was dropped on the warehouse floor and said, "hit in the air?"

"Of course!" Goku said." Whenever you want. But only this one. I do not want the risk of running out of ammunition for the trip.

"Ok!" Yamcha said and threw the bottle up immediately. He barely managed to see Goku draw and throw. He only felt the little pieces falling like rain. "Wow! You are really impressive! He was going to make the biggest success in a rodeo that I was a part of...

"Rodeo?"

"Yes, a kind of cowboy circus. I'm not good at shooting, but I have an ability. I can show you. Pual!" he shouted. "Showtime!"

The little boy sighed and started running from side to side when Yamcha took his rope loop and spun in the air. He threw the rope and lassoed Pual without the slightest effort. As he had not spent any ammunition involved, he repeated the performance several times to impress Goku.

"Boy, where did you learn that?"

"I grew up on a cattle ranch. I raised calves all my life. When I was 17, I got bored with my life and, since I didn't have a father or a mother, I decided to take the road. When I was 23, I arrived in West Sayan with some money and met Bulma. I'm not the gold digger type, as she had money, I decided to hit the road with my old partner Pual and try to get rich... but our attempts didn't work very well." He sighed. "And now Bulma wants a divorce because she thinks I'm a liar."

"But she thought you were dead. What if she had married again?"

"Really, I miscalculated."

Goku and Yamcha spent a lot of time talking and, for some reason, they liked each other and became friends quickly. As they were supposed to go to West Sayan together the next day and Yamcha didn't intend to get rid of his horse, they agreed that they would both go on horseback, reinforcing the coach's safety. However, Goku was confident that Freeza's gang wouldn't attack the coach with the new route.

But he was wrong.

* * *

Zarbon was concerned. He had assaulted the West Sayan stagecoach without problems countless times. The driver was more dull-witted than the ones of other coaches from the region from Oozaru to Vegetown. He had never really fought for them.

But he thought about the guy with the spiked hair and felt a bad feeling. If Vegeta wasn't lying, the coach's guard was the same boy he saw shooting at West Sayan. Probably the fastest guy he had ever seen shooting in life, even faster than the damned Vegeta, who was a phenomenon, and ferocious like Raditz, who was the most dangerous guy he knew.

And the guy looked like a man Zarbon had briefly met when he was 14 and entered the gang, named Barddock. His skin was a little lighter, but the fierceness look when he got angry was the same. If Barddock hadn't been caught in the stagecoach completely defenseless and unarmed and afraid for his wife and children, he would never have been killed by the gang. He shot fast and precisely like a demon, just like the boy who was so similar to him.

Zarbon didn't have guts to comment with Freeza, but he even thought that, maybe, that toddler left for the coyotes to devour might have survived. And if one day he really decided to take revenge on his parents' killers, Freeza would be in trouble. 

Each group of the gang had a name, a dynamic, and a strategy of theft. The 'birds of prey,' the group made by Vegeta, Nappa, and Raditz, pursued and approached the stage faster and precisely. Ginyu's group used to attack the move, usually shooting at one of the stage wheels. Zarbon's group, known as "the ghosts," used to make a barricade and wait in a curve, guns in hands, read to action.

It always worked. But Zarbon was afraid. He had lost Kiwi, thanks to the guy with the spiked hair. He knew how dangerous, fast, and deadly he was. Worst of all, the young man he had arranged for Kiwi's place, who was called Orlen, was not experienced and much less confident, a 17-year-old boy who could not be compared to any other more experienced. It was the first big robbery with his new group, and that boy could end up dead or terrified, and they could be in jeopardy. But they had no choice, so he rode his grey horse and called them both:

"Dodoria, Orlen, come on. It's two hours of riding to the turn where we'll catch the coach. Watch out for the guy with spiky hair. He can be a little dangerous."

Zarbon was mistaken. Goku was actually very dangerous.

* * *

The coach had left Penguin Village and headed down the end of the Paozu Mountains towards the Sayan Plateau when Goku felt on alert. A horse had been galloping quickly towards them, coming from the plain, and he looked back. He relaxed when he saw the Tenshin Indian approaching quickly. He made a gesture for Yajirobe and Yamcha to stop and did the same. Tenshin reached them.

"Haugh, Goku!"

"Haugh, Tenhsin! Did you see anything suspicious?"

"Beware the Bull's Skull Curve." The Indian said, calmly, "I saw a few men from Freeza's gang passing, and there they stay."

"Hmm, "said Goku, "it's one hour until there. Thanks for the warning, Tenhsin.

The Indian nodded and turned around, waving to Yajirobe and ignoring Yamcha. He disappeared on the side road, and Yamcha said:

"This guy makes me nervous with his eye on his forehead."

"He is a good friend, and if he said to be careful, let's take it. Keep the bow on the saddle. Maybe we need him... and you shoot?

"I do, but I don't think I am as good as you."

"Let's see how we turn around. Yajirobe!" Goku looked at the driver, who gave him back a look full of bad will "near the Bull's Skull Curve, you hold the rifle with one hand and the reins with the other."

"You talk as if it were easy, "said the other, with an upset expression on his face.

Goku gave a debauched smile and released the reins, making Nimbus resume its gallop. Yajirobe grumbled something and followed them.

* * *

Bulma was sleeping inside the coach, in the company of the sad Pual, since they had left Penguin Village. She had appeared in the morning wearing a beautiful blue dress she had bought in New Sadala. She had promised herself that she would never wear mourning again if she became a widow, no matter what the scandal.

She had ignored Yamcha since they left the city, no matter how hard he tried to please her. She simply couldn't take that husband back, even more so after knowing that he had spent two whole years living on blows. Divorces were a scandal, even more so in the little West Sayan, and they only happened, usually, by the husband's will, but she was determined to end that marriage as soon as possible.

Suddenly the stage stopped, and she woke up. She was about to put her head out when she heard the first shot. She looked at Pual, who had his eyes popped like hers, blenched as much as she could, trying to get protected between the stage benches. Whatever was happening out there, she would be very quiet, praying that it was not a robbery.

For a moment, she thought of Vegeta, who was robbing stagecoaches. She closed her eyes and thought: "Anything but being forced to see that scoundrel again. I'm unlucky. Only rats and criminals come into my life!"

* * *

The Bull Skull Curve had that name because of a very white stone, covered with limestone and with an elongated side that, from afar, looked like a big bull skull set against the road. It was the second most dangerous curve of that road, losing only to the three crosses' curve, where Goku's parents had been killed many years before.

Zarbon, Dodoria, and Orlen were stopped. The horses crossed the road, just after the curve, waiting for the coach, not knowing that it was a mistake and that they would be surprised and not the coach. They heard the sound of the horses' hooves beating, believing that the coach was approaching and would have to stop when he saw them, obstructing the passage.

But Goku had planned his action very well, already coming with his revolver in hand, ready to go into action as soon as he turned the bend. He and Yamcha came right in front of the stage, Yamcha already with his bow prepared to help if necessary. When they turned the curve and entered the field of vision of the three bandits, everything accelerated.

Zarbon rolled his blue eyes as soon as Goku turned the turn. But it was too late. He had no reaction time. One-shot hit him in the forearm and another in the shoulder. As if it was possible before Dodoria could give him cover, he was hit too, but in hand, dropping the revolver with a scream. And when Goku was going to take care of Orlen, the third rider simply fired, running towards West Sayan. That's when Yamcha went into action.

The boy spilled his brown horse and was already terrified and sorry to have sought Freeza's gang to join them. He thought he would be shot in the back, but instead, he suddenly felt himself being torn out of the saddle by a strong grip in the middle of his body, falling down in a matter of seconds, feeling a rib break when he hit the ground and ate dust.

His next vision was that of a smiling face surrounded by black hair that leaned over him and said:

"Hello, boy... it looks like you're going to be hosted by West Sayan jail..."

Meanwhile, Dodoria and Zarbon, recovered from the initial fright and very experienced, tried to react to Goku, who had come close enough for a left-hand shot. Unfortunately, Goku was faster and shot each other on the shoulders, disarming them immediately for both of them. He got close to Dodoria and pointed the gun to the face of the burglar, who surrendered immediately, scared. Even wounded and without strength in his arms, Zarbon fired the horse deviating in the opposite direction of West Sayan.

"YAJIROBE "shouted Goku "he's making his way towards you!"

Yajirobe stopped the wagon and shot the rifle but missed the shot, and Zarbon continued shooting, disappearing in a curve of the road. Zarbon had run away, not sure what he would do. But the assault on the stage had been frustrated.

* * *

Goku and Yamcha finished tying Dodoria, who was injured. With a series of complicated knots difficult to untie, Yamcha tied him and Orlen to his horses' saddles, which were tied to the stagecoach's horse pair. Goku decided he didn't want the risk of having the burglars traveling inside the coach.

"What will you do with us? "asked Dodoria. "I'm hurt."

"You hold on until we get to West Sayan, "said Goku. I know you are not seriously hurt. But I don't think you'll ever shoot straight again."

"And me? "asked Orlen "it's my first time with the gang! I'm not even a threat!"

"Tell that to the sheriff of West Sayan and then to the judge of Fierce's Landing or New Sadala," said Yamcha. "I'm not so sure what jurisdiction we're in..."

"Come on, Yamcha, enough of this talk," shouted Goku. "I want to arrive before nightfall, and we lost at least one hour because of these scumbags... Run, Nimbus!"

He ran the mare, and Yamcha followed him. Yajirobe cracked the whip, which accidentally hit Dodoria's ear, which screamed.

"Oops! Sorry there, Mr. Bandit! I'm not used to taking passengers in front of the stage, "shouted Yajirobe, happy to know that this time the gang of Freeza had lost."

Inside the cabin, Bulma sighed with relief. After all, the rude guy had been a good investment... and Yamcha hadn't been at all useless.

Maybe she gave him a chance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. For some reason, I thought it was funny that Pual only spoke Spanish. First, he says that they are poor, dragged, and unhappy, and then he complains that they are "very far away" in allusion to the million dollars aspired by Yamcha.   
2\. I'm not part of the crowd that hates Yamcha just because he dated Bulma before Vegeta. Here he is really a rascal, but he will have his cool moments, you'll see.   
3\. I love Yajirobe's bad mood. That's why I put him on the fic to be the coach driver and have the opportunity to talk bullshit at ease.   
4\. The chapter quote alludes to that transformation Goku goes through every time he enters a battle. That shooting is only the first one.   
5\. In the next chapter, "Heroes of West Sayan," Goku and Yamcha arrive at the city with their captives. But Freeza doesn't like who fails, so he will send someone to "take care" of this case. Guess who?


End file.
